2Wheeltips

Ride a motorcycle and soon you will realize that one of the most personalized accessories you can get  speaks volumes about you, but costs you absolutely nothing:  your biker nickname.  In this column, I invite everyone to respond by answering the following questions (and I'll be the first to provide my own answers!):
    1.    Do you have a biker nickname?  If so, what is it?
    2.    Now, for the really interesting part:  How did you acquire that nickname (without being too offensive, and avoiding those dreaded TMI (too much information) bits and pieces…?
    3.    If you don't have a nickname, what do you want it to be, and why?

Okay, everyone, here I go!

1.  My biker nickname is "Cookie".
2.  Friends that I ride with know me for my homemade cookies, so "Cookie"  seemed the appropriate nickname for me.
Do I look like a "Cookie"….who knows (you can decide for yourself when you meet me in person)?  But, "Cookie" it is, and "Cookie" I am!

Now, it's your turn to share!  What's your story?

We have to let you all know that we made it!  The Jan/Feb issue of RoadBike Magazine mentions 2wheeltips.com (see page 17) as a valuable resource for motorcyclists.   The word is spreading within the motorcycling community and more people are learning about the 2wheeltips website and all it has to offer.  So, keep spreading the word, thank you all for your support, and brace yourselves for some really exciting new features yet to come!

Your friends at 2wheeltips

Are you considering learning how to ride a motorcycle?  Do you already have your license but never took a Basic Rider Course and are now considering taking one?  Then, this group is for you!

Signing up for the Basic Rider Course in your area is a great beginning.  But, there are many ways you can prepare yourself in order to get the most out of the class.   After all, the class itself is only a few days long (depending upon which version you take) and it can be tough to digest all of the information that is being thrown your way in such little time.  Here, we will help you prepare to take the BRC, give you insight into what issues you should tackle BEFORE the class, which areas you might want to focus on more DURING the class, and what to expect AFTER the class. 

Hello all, I'm a thirty-something "chick"
who got into
 motorcycling the way quite a few of us do these
days: higher
 gas prices and overall financial belt-tightening.
The fun factor
 has been a wonderful side benefit!
My husband and I talked about 
how riding a motorcycle would save us money, and decided to take 
an MSF course and then start looking at either motorcycles or
 scooters (at the time, I was leaning heavily
toward the Piaggio 
MP3 500). Neither my husband nor I had ever
owned, or ridden a
 motorcycle, although I had been a passenger a
few times growing
 up, and with a boyfriend or two. We both passed
the course,
 although with a few curses at the figure-8 maneuver,
and then, 
thoroughly bitten by the 2-wheeled bug, we set out to
test ride 
some motorcycles and scooters. I (hubby declined to
test-ride as 
he didn't own any protective gear yet) test rode a
Honda Shadow
 750, Suzuki Boulevard S40, Piaggio BV Tourer 500,
Piaggio MP3 500 and the Yamaha V-Star 650. The Boulevard S40 was a
very light
 bike, similar to the Honda Rebels we learned on in the
MSF 
course, so I was comfortable with that bike. I also learned
from 
the Honda dealer (who was also an MSF instructor) a valuable
tip
 for stopping: pull in your clutch first to disengage the
engine 
and then apply your brakes! Every stop I've made since
then has
 been so much smoother! I was extremely nervous to try
the larger
 Honda 750, but when I got it going, I realized that
the
 maneuvering was just the same, even on a heavier bike, so
once
 that fear passed, I had a blast running it around the
parking
 lot!
Next stop was the scooter dealership where they let
me take
 out the scooters on an extended test-ride IN TRAFFIC.
Remember -
this is the very first time I've played in traffic,
and not only 
were these scooters not mine, they were NEW. I tried
the BV 500 
first, and had lots of fun with the twist-n-go, then I
hopped on
the MP3 500. I had been interested in these ever since
I first 
saw one on the street, and boy did they live up to the
hype! The 
ease of a scooter with the lean of a motorcycle around
the 
corners. I got both these scooters up to about 30 mph, but
it
 felt like I was going 50 mph with the wind on my
full-face
 helmet, and yes, even a bug or two. After the
exhilarating rides, 
it was time to look at the price tags, and
these, being new bikes,
were well beyond my budget, especially
adding on the accessories 
that I wanted. I had known that I
wanted a used bike as my first,
 especially for the lay-down
factor, but these prices just
 verified that.
Next was the Yamaha, a 2007 with low miles. I had
 some trouble getting it going on the incline of the parking lot 
at the dealership, but once I got it
moving it was a blast -
 turned on a dime, a very maneuverable
bike! It was also a nicely
 visible cherry red, which matched my
bright red helmet, and had a
 bunch of accessories already added
on. Can you tell I was in 
love?
Every single one of these bikes was a blast to ride,
 especially the Piaggio MP3! But, economics won out and the
 Yamaha, with its included windshield, custom seat and saddle
bags, was my choice. (check out a photo of my bike on my profile
 page) This was all the way back in late September, and now I've
 ridden in some different conditions, and played some more in traffic, which 
I will write about in further installments of my adventures...
Stay Tuned!

One word of advice if you are considering getting a used motorcycle helmet:  DON'T!   When it comes to helmets, you need to follow this simple rule:  one and it's done... one impact to that helmet, either from an accident or fall, or simply from being dropped several feet onto the floor, and that helmet's ability to protect your head is reduced...and the damage on a helmet is not always visible.  As the operator or passenger on a bike, always buy a new DOT or SNELL certified helmet from a reputable dealer.  And keep in mind that if that used bike you are buying comes with a helmet from the previous owner, keep the bike....but don't use the helmet!

Perfect, dry roads exist only in a perfect world, and this is not a perfect world. Being prepared for the unexpected will make you a safer rider and will enable you to ride on many roads during most seasons of the year. Always  use the “S.E.E.” (search, evaluate, execute) riding strategy as taught in the Motorcycle Safety Foundation courses. Here are some road conditions that you should be prepared to encounter:

Many bikes do not have a gear indicator or a tachometer and one of the first things new riders have to learn is when to shift. If you read the motorcycle manual, you are led to believe you need to shift gears every 8 - 10 mph. This implies that proper shifting means constantly watching your speedometer to determine when to shift. Not only is this not the case, but you can not possibly operate a bike safely while constantly glancing down to check your speed much less enjoy riding.

So how do you tell when it is time to shift? And when you do shift, is it ok to skip gears the way you do in a car?

First of all it is perfectly ok to skip gears. Many new riders make the mistake of thinking they need to upshift or downshift into all gears. If you are riding at highway speeds and enter a school zone, it is perfectly ok to downshift 2 gears before engaging the clutch.  The same with very fast acceleration. You may skip 2nd gear and move directly to 3rd.

Down shifting is easy, if the engine begins to lug or feels sluggish when you twist the throttle, you know you need to down shift. Depending on your speed, you may need to shift more than one gear.

Upshifting is a different story and requires that you get a "feel" for the sound of the engine as you accelerate. Another way to "feel" when to upshift is how the engine responds when you shift to the next gear. If the engine is sluggish or lulls, then you shifted too early. If the bike jerks or the engine rpms are high, you shifted too late.

While practicing, you can use the chart in the motorcycle manual as a starting point, but you soon develop a feel for when to upshift.

One of scariest things a new rider will experience is riding over a big bump. As you go over it, you feel as if you have been thrown 3 feet in the air followed by a sensation that you are going to fly off the back of the bike. You grip the handlebars tightly and slow down as the adrenaline rushes through your body. It can be a very frightening experience...enough to make you reconsider riding.

To avoid this, you need to practice scanning the road in front of you for bumps as well as potholes, and maneuver the bike to avoid them. If the bump can not be avoided, you should prepare yourself for the bump by relaxing and not tensing up on the bike.

As with just about all things related to improving your skills, as you go over more bumps, you will learn how your bike reacts to bumps and you will get better at handling them.

Check out our video on cracks and road imperfections for more tips on riding over rough road surfaces.