2Wheeltips

Guest post by Gina Williams

Photo courtesy of motorcycle-leather-gear.com

Taking up riding a motorcycle isn’t a difficult decision.  They’re awesome and they’re even more awesome to ride.  However, before you really begin riding, you need to know the risks riding a motorcycle entails and the safety precautions you must take.
According to the National Highway of Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 11 percent of all accidents in the United States involve a motorcycle.  Below is data from the U.S. Census Bureau:



This data is disturbing considering that, according to NHTSA, there are over 39 passenger vehicles for every motorcycle on the road; thus, motorcyclists’ fatality rate is disproportional to the number of motorcyclists on the road. 
After understanding the dangers, you must understand how to remain safe on the road.  Here are safety tips you should take seriously if you take up motorcycling:

Take a motorcycle safety course.

These are a combination of classroom hours and supervised application of those teachings on motorcycles.  Each course differs in material and instruction, but usually students are taught:

• The basics of operating a motorcycle, e.g. how to take road curves, how to properly mount the bike, etc.
• Safety basics, e.g. which equipment to wear, precautions one must take, etc.
• What you are lawfully responsible for as a driver, e.g. the laws of the road.

Take your time learning.

After your motorcycle safety course, don’t just jump on the interstate immediately.  Ensure that you are fully comfortable driving your vehicle at all stages; begin first with neighborhoods, next with rural roads, then small highways, and so on.  Work your way up just as you did when you were learning how to drive a car.

Wear the appropriate motorcycle gear.

You must wear the proper motorcycle equipment when riding; it will protect you from the weather (rain literally feels like needles) and from getting hurt in the event that you do get into an accident.  The good thing is that motorcycle gear looks pretty cool.  You’ll need a riding jacket and pants, riding gloves, and boots that cover your full feet and ankles.

Follow driving laws.

Excessive speeds, lane splitting, and driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol are all well-known causes of motorcycle accidents.  Following driving laws is imperative; even if you have full control of your vehicle, doing any of these things could lead other drivers to react in a way that endangers your life and theirs.

Be aware of everything around you.

Pay attention when you’re driving.  Constantly check all around you for reckless drivers, drivers who may not see you (a common cause of motorcycle accidents), and hazards in the road.  Do not let yourself be distracted by your cell phone, music player, etc.  When you’re driving, your only concern should be driving.

Gina Williams is a guest post and article writer bringing to us safety tips for beginner motorcyclists.

Gina spends the majority of her professional life writing about  motorcycle accidents.

http://www.prweb.com/releases/harley-davidson/burn-lawsuit/prweb8701137.htm

We have heard stories and seeen instances of Harley bikes overheating but this article still caught us a bit off guard.  We welcome any comments and personal experiences you have.  What do you think?

Just a quick little blog on tire repair. As you know, riding season is in full swing and I'm sure many of you have plans for some nice multi-day rides. One of the things you should carry is a tire repair kit and tire pump. Nothing can ruin a bike trip like a flat tire in the middle of nowhere...especially after most repair shops have closed. You can easily lose a day of riding waiting to have your bike towed for a repair.....and your riding buddies will not be happy that you were not prepared.

There are tons of repair kits out there but one that we have come across that we like is the stop and go tire plugger and mini air compressor. We reviewed the tire repair kit a few months ago but the mini-air compressor is a more recent addition to the stop and go product line. Well....this weekend I got a chance to use it.......because I had a flat tire.

I was pulling out the Yamaha Raider and noticed the rear tire was flat. I found the nail, used the tools from the repair kit and quickly plugged the tire....which I had done before. But now it was time to inflate the tire. Because I was running late, I didn't want to use a hand/foot pump so I plugged up the stop and go mini air compressor to the battery tender cable, screwed it to the tire and turned it on. Initially I thought "this is going to take forever! The tire is huge, the compressor is small (1.5lbs) and getting the tire up to 40psi will take an hour and kill the battery." I was totally wrong! 10 minutes later the tire was inflated and the bike started right up.

Long story short I was able to do a 200 mile ride without any problems. If you are in the market for a repair kit, go over to www.stopngo.com and look for the tire plugger and mini air compressor. You will not be disappointed.

Now that riding season is here, we want to remind everyone of the 2wheeltips video store and the wonderful products we have for sell. What makes our store different from the other motorcycle websites out there is:

-- each product is filmed in high definition, so you get to watch a quality video of each product being used before you buy it. That way you know exactly what you are getting before you open the box

-- we sell quality products that are new, interesting and affordable. These are not refurbished or used products....they are shipped directly to you from the manufacturer

-- we sell a limited number of interesting products that we have personally tested ourselves.....so you don't have to worry about a product that looks good on paper but in practice is a huge disappointment

Check out our video store at www.2wheeltips.com/store to see what we have to offer. We introduce new products all the time so check back often to see what's new.

Your friends at 2wheeltips.com

The 2wheeltips crew made it over to the Javits Center in NYC last month to check out the International Motorcycle Show. This is our 3rd time going and we always have a good time talking to the vendors and catching up with the latest motorcycle industry gossip. This year was no exception.  We had a great time talking to our friends from National Cycle, Arai helmets, Touch of Purple, West Virginia Tourism and a few others. It was a great show and we had a lot of fun. But we couldn't help but notice a few changes, most of them driven by the slow economy. These are:

Smaller Show
As we all know, the "powersports industry" (motorcycles, UTV's, ATV's, scooters, watercraft) has taken a serious hit due to the declining economy.  The NYC show is one of the largest and over the years we have noticed a steady decline in the size of the show.  Five or six years ago, the show was "standing room only", had hundreds of vendors and was on 2  levels. Now the show is on one level and many of the exhibitors decided not to participate or are no longer in business.  To many, a motorcycle is simply a luxury item they can no longer afford and many people have put off purchasing a bike or they are selling the one(s) they already have. We think the show numbers reflect this new reality.

Smaller Bikes
In prior years, most of the big manufacturers couldn't wait to unveal the latest and greatest bike with bigger engines, more features and even bigger price tags. How things have changed. This year, the spotlight was on smaller bikes. The most memorable were the Honda 250cc (you heard that right) sport bike, the dressed up Honda Shadow (750cc) with Cobra accessories and the Harley-Davidson (mid-priced) softtails. Since banks are not handing out motorcycle loans like halloween candy anymore, the manufacturers have caught on and are now making bikes that people can get financed.

Scooters
We did not see ANY scooter manufacturers at the show nor did we see any "green" vehicles. In previous years, there were at least two at the show. This segment of the industry has taken a serious hit and we personally know of a few scooter manufacturers that are out of business. The only exception was the BMW, but it's a concept scooter.....and is not available for sale.

New Products
Although the industry is changing, we did see some new products and vendors. SpeedpassingXV was there with a new EZPass holder that straps you your arm. NikkoMotoRacing introduced a new line of motorcycle helmets. BLINC introduced some new integrated bluetooth helmets and West Virginia Tourism gave an excellent presentation on motorcycle rallies and events available in their state.

As one of our friends from the industry stated, the industry is getting back to basics and is now focusing on the motorcyclist that has always been there. We will see how this goes in 2011.

We all know how much motorcycle gear costs. Once something gets labeled "for motorcycling", the price jumps 3-fold. For example, a pair of decent snowmobile gloves cost $35.00. A decent pair of winter motorcycle gloves will cost you over $100.00. Which pair do you think will keep your hands the warmest and have the most features?

Since I plan to do some polar bear rides this year, I decided to upgrade my riding boots. I looked around in the dealerships and and it seems they are all over $200.00! And they did not look or feel warm.

Determined not to spend that type of cash, I went down to the local department store to see what they have. I found the North Face McMurdo boot for half the cost. Long story short, these boots are extremely warm, waterproof, come up way over the ankle and cost half as much as the "motorcycle boots" I saw earlier. They have a women's version too.

If you are in the market for some decent winter "motorcycle boots", definitely check them out.

http://www.thenorthface.com/catalog/sc-gear/mens-mcmurdo-boot.html?parent_category_rn=&cm_vc=Search

One of our long time fans, Nick, writes for the Motorcycle Sport Touring Association. Nick and I spoke over the weekend and he is kind enough to let us link to his product reviews on all the nice bikes he gets to test out. Here is a link to his latest review of the Can-am Spyder. Ya know....the 3-wheel thingy you see in all of the motorcyle magazines.

http://www.sporttouring.us/content.php/425-Cruising-on-Three-Wheels-–-The-Can-Am-Spyder-RT-S-Roadster-Road-Test

 Last year, I bought the Gerbings G3 microwire gloves,  microwire heated liner and the dual temperature controller.

Well....the dual temperature controller failed about 3 weeks after I got it.  I was on a ride on a very cold day and all of a sudden I got cold...very cold. I fussed around with the controller and still no heat. At the first stop, I checked everything out and long story short it was the controller. I took it back to the store and they happily swapped it out. I think I used it about 4 times before it died. 

Fast forward to this year and the darn thing crapped out again!! But this time it is stuck on high!! It's like riding around with a blow torch on your skin. I think I may have gotten 6 - 8 rides out of it before it started acting up. 

But this time I called Gerbings Heating Gear.....since their products have a lifetime warranty. And this is where it gets interesting. 

Well....I was told the warranty is if you send it your registration card and you are the original owner.  If you do not, then.....you are out of luck!  They will not replace it. You can pay for them to repair it at $35/hour or you can buy another one. Me? I never send in the cards because all it triggers is a bunch of junk mail. 

Not one to argue but I did ask.....if it has a lifetime warranty, why does it matter who purchased it?

Needless to say, I am not happy about this. Their stuff is not cheap and to have them fail back to back is not good. Just think if it would have happened on a 20 degree day and I was 2 hours from home?

Since this is the second one that died on me, I'm not looking to try it a third time.  Has this happened to anyone out there?   Anyone have any suggestions on a different controller?

 

PrayasIride has done it again
He gave us the "what"…now we give you the "when"
Write a new ending to some of his prose
And someone will win…maybe you…hey, who knows?
"Things I Have Said to Myself While Riding"
Is a poem by PrayasIride
Your challenge is now to create a new ending
The ending is yours to decide!
"Want to Ride But Don't Feel Like It"
Is the other poem needing an end
Write a new ending for this poem, that fits
And, to you, a prize we will send!
The rules are as simple as one, two and three
Send your poetry to us for review
Just keep your words clean and send us your entry
That's really all you have to do!
The deadline for entering is the end of November
The date is approaching quite fast!
So put pen to paper..remember!  remember!
The contest ends when November has passed!!

Okay, all you 2wheeltips biker poets!  Get your contest entries in fast!  Send them to:  info@2wheeltips.com.  We will review all entries and pick the ones that we think are the best!  The winners will win a box of 200 earplugs and, of course, some 2wheeltips chocolate!!!

Many bikers don’t know that you should never buy a used helmet. Helmets are good for protecting your head in only one accident. Afterwards it is time to get a new one. If the helmet is used, you have no way of knowing if it has been in an accident or not.

What tempts many into getting a used helmet is how it appears on the outside. Except for a few scrapes it looks fine.

But it’s not the external shell that protects your head, it is the internal foam. To prove this, we contacted our friends at Snell Memorial Foundation, the folks that do helmet testing. You will find the “Snell sticker” on the back of all helmets that have passed their tests. They were kind enough to send us the remains of a tested helmet and did us a favor by cutting it in half so we can see the internals.

With the exception of a few scrapes, the external shell is intact. But, on the inside, you see the foam layer is compressed where it was hit during testing. Once the foam layer is compressed, it does not expand and the helmet loses its ability to protect your head. Also note in the pictures that the foam layer has separated from the outer shell and is completely unattached and free to move around. Those tests, by the way, simulate a rider falling off a bike and hitting their head on the ground.

So, the next time you think about buying a used helmet, think again. A few dollars saved is not worth the risk of a serious head injury if the helmet is no good.  You can get a brand new tested helmet for $10.00 more than some of the ones you see on eBay and other places. Better safe than sorry.