14th October 2006

Motorcycle Tires - Why Should You Care?

One of the most important parts of any vehicle is its tires. Not only are the tires subject to a large amount of wear and tear, but also their durability depends largely upon how you maintain them. But before we go into the details of motorcycle tires maintenance, let us first understand how you should determine which tires are best for you.

One of the most trusted sources to which you can speak about the kind of tires that would suit your needs the best should be the dealer from whom you purchased your bike or your bike repair mechanic. Since both these parties do not have any interest in giving you wrong information, they make a good starting point.

Besides your dealer and mechanic, you can also look up for information on motorcycle tires in: tire guides, magazine reviews, manufacturer official sites and a few serious forums on the Net. This will help you to re-affirm the information that you have gained from your bike dealer / mechanic.

One of the simplest ways of determining the correct brand for tire choice is to look at the tires which are being utilized by other motorcyclists in a competition. If any particular brand strikes you to be most commonly used, it might do you good to check out that particular brand first.

It’s VERY IMPORTANT that you also check for what your user’s manual recommend. You don’t want to end up messing up with the performance of your motorcycle because you chose motorcycle tires that do not fit the requirements for your bike and kind of riding.

While choosing your motorcycle tires, you must categorize tires according to their performance level, their wet grip ability, durability and mileage, load carrying capacity etc.

Of course, price is a critical factor as well, but always make a considered choice while deciding upon your tires. Nowadays, there are several financing options available which you can lighten the burden on your shoulders.

Assuming that you have purchased your tires and are happy with them, let us now checkout some of the ways in which you can make your tires last longer.

Tires are constantly being subject to a lot of dust, scuffing, and abrasions, mud etc. Thus, it is crucial to keep them in optimal condition in order to get the most out of them. Here are some great motorcycle tire maintenance tips for you:

MOTORCYCLE TIRES MAINTENANCE TIPS

-> Use a mild detergent to clean your tires.

-> Rinse the tires properly and do not use harsh chemical washes onto them. This will lead to faster corrosion of the wheels.

-> It is also important that you wash and wax your wheels on a weekly basis. If you have a aluminum wheel, then use a corrosion protector as well in order to make it look nice and shiny all the time

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14th October 2006

The Motorcycle Helmet You Want May Not Be As Safe As You Think!

Choosing the right Motorcycle helmet can make a difference….

….literally between life and death. But how does an ordinary guy in the street make an informed decision about what kind of helmets give the best protection? There are so many makes, models and styles. Not to mention DOT approved, Snell approved, ECE approved! It is enough to make you go goggle eyed when confronted with so much information.

Tests have shown that it is perfectly possible to suffer a fatal injury falling off a stationary bike if you hit your unprotected head on the kerb, so clearly choosing the right helmet is important.

But which one?

Wouldn’t it be easier if someone just said, “Look, when you are in a crash, you need to protect this part of you head, because this is the part that is most likely to get hurt”…

Well that’s what I thought. But it wasn’t that easy. The kind of information you need to make that kind of call requires someone, somewhere to look at a whole bunch of motorcycle crashes, look at the motorcycle helmet damage, assess where point of impact occurred and put the information into a form that allows ordinary motorcyclists (like you and me) to make a decision for themselves.

However, the good news is that if you look hard enough, the information is available. A study was carried out a few years ago by Deitmar Otte, at the Medizinsche Hochschule in Hannover, Germany on the damage incurred to helmets worn by motorcyclists involved in accidents. His analysis was extremely detailed; in fact it was far to detailed for me to go into here, but it was extremely important.

What I am going to do is tell you in a nutshell, what parts of your head are most likely to be hurt in a motorcycle accident, based on Herr Otte’s findings. The rest is up to you…

Take a motorcycle helmet and look at it from the front. Now imagine it is divided into three sections; the top (the cranium area) the middle (the area most likely covered by the visor) and the bottom (on a full face helmet, this would be the chin guard area). If you were involved in a motorcycle accident, and you hit your head you would have a 35% chance of the impact occurring to your chin area, 10% to your visor area, and 22% chance of the impact occurring to your front cranium area.

Now turn the helmet around. Looking at it from the back, divide it in two down the middle. In an accident, if you hit you head, you have a 16% chance of impact occurring on the back of you head to the left side, and a 17% chance of impact occurring on the back right side.

Conclusion? Well, this is only my personal conclusion but I would say the following…

The safest helmets are full face helmets…

Second would be three quarter helmets with visors…

Third would be half helmets…

Last would be novelty helmets

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14th October 2006

Motorcycle Protective Clothing That Works!

There is some great looking motorcycle clothing on the market these days, but believe me not all of the motorcycle clothing offers as much protection as you think. In Europe, for motorcycle clothing to be lawfully sold as “safety” clothing, it has to pass a series of European standards, which are pretty lengthy but are available on my website. The standards cover the clothing’s performance in abrasion, tearing and impact tests, and when they have passed; they are sold with the CE mark. However, no such regulation is available in the USA, so what should you look for?

Protection in the right places…

Not many people realise that most motorcycle injuries occur below the belt. Your legs and feet are extremely vulnerable, so make sure that you wear a decent pair of high boots and some protective pants. The pants should be reinforced at the knees and hips; ideally they should attach to your jacket by a zipper. Boots should be thick leather, with a sole that can flex with the foot but has a resistance to crushing across the foot.

Traditional material for motorcycle clothing is leather, but thick nylon and other synthetic materials work well too. Kevlar reinforced jeans are better than normal jeans .Normal jeans last 0.6 seconds in the European standard abrasion test, while protective motorcycle pants will last 5 seconds or more. You don’t really want to be ripping your skin open within less than half a second of falling of your bike do you? Thought not.

Same principles apply to jackets. Make sure they are hardwearing, if they are leather make sure it is thick leather not fashion leather like some jackets. Stitching should be uniform with no dropped stitches, and all your “sharp bits”, your elbows and shoulders should be reinforced, ideally with some impact protection included.

A decent pair of gloves is a must; your palms will be at risk in an accident; you instinctively put out your hands palm side down to stop yourself in a slide, so the palms of your gloves should be reinforced with patches. Knitted Kevlar is especially good for this kind of abrasion resistance, but reinforced leather works well too.

Impact protection can be bought separately like back protectors and so on, but remember where your most vulnerable areas are. And make sure if you buy impact protection you actually wear it! If you have any doubts it may be better to go for motorcycle clothing with a degree of impact protection included so that you know when you put on your jacket and pants, the protection is always going to be there

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14th October 2006

Motorcycle Accidents: Preparing Your Case

Motorcycle accident is an unexpected occurrence that results to shock and trauma, serious physical injuries and death. The most common reason of a motorcycle accident, which contributed to the 50% of the motorcycle vehicle, is due to the failure of another motorist to see the motorcycle. It is estimated that 75% of motorcycle accidents involve another motor vehicle, two-thirds of which were caused by the motorist failing to yield the right of way. Motorcycle accidents not only involve driver’s negligence, it also includes product defect and unsafe roadways.

Motorcycle accident happens so fast that we are not able to control it. During an accident, we cannot do much, especially when we are injured. We cannot think of anything but the pain that we are suffering. It is essential for us to know the things that we have to do after the accident.

In situations wherein you are still able to talk, walk and move without difficulty, you might as well do the following steps. Get the name, address, phone number, driver’s license number, and other significant information about the other driver involved in the accident. Also, get the names, address and phone numbers of the witnesses, if there is any. Ask if they can give some statement and record the conversation. Take note of important visual information, like scratches and marks on the car and the weather condition. If you do not have pen or any writing materials, review the scene in your mind so that you can remember it. You have to tell the police exactly what happened. Assist the police with the investigation, be cooperative. Take pictures of the cars involved in the accident in different angles.

If you were injured or feel any pain or discomfort, seek medical attention immediately. A delay may raise questions whether the injury was caused by the accident or not. Have your wounds photographed, they heal quickly. You might need it during a case hearing or investigation. Have a copy of all medical reports as well as the hospital bills.

It is advisable for you to go back to where the accident occurred. Bring writing and recording materials with you. You might find more evidence and witnesses. If you’re going to take a picture, get somebody to witness it. Do not touch anything

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14th October 2006

Do You Need a Part for Your Harley Davidson Motorcycle?

Need a Harley Davidson Part for your ride?

Where do you get a good quality Harley Davidson Part? Can I use an aftermarket part?

These questions are not easy to answer. It depends a lot on your situation, part you’re looking for, and the money you want to spend.

The bottom line……… you have to decide.

I have a little information here that may be useful to you, so keep reading!

An OEM part versus an aftermarket part.

An OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) part are of course the genuine Harley Davidson Part you would find at an authorized Harley dealer.

These parts are original in that they have the exact same specifications that came with the original part.

These parts however many not have been manufactured by Harley Davidson themselves (at their physical location). Harley may get another company to manufacture these parts to Harley specs, and then they will sell them in the Harley box as OEM.

OEM parts are generally more expensive, and almost always recommended by the dealer. (They make their money by selling parts not bikes)

The dealer will most likely tell you that OEM parts are of a higher quality. This may or may not be true.

An Aftermarket part should perform as well as an OEM but take note. These parts were made by a company other than the original manufacturer.

Sometimes after a certain time period the original manufacturer of a part will allow the company that physically manufactured the part to sell it at a reduced price and in their own packaging. The part now becomes an OEM aftermarket part.

Normally after a certain period of time, the manufacturer will allow the company that originally designed/produced the part to sell it in their own box at a considerably lower cost, making it: an Aftermarket OEM part

So what does this tell you about that Harley Davidson Part that you need?

If you cannot find the quality in an aftermarket part, then search for the OEM provided it is in your price range.

There is a lot of competition out there between vendors who want your dollar. An aftermarket Harley part, for your Harley Davidson are generally of good to excellent quality.

If you own a Harley, sooner or later you will have to buy parts for it. Buying online has its conveniences and you don’t have to go downtown and fight traffic

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