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Staying Cool for Your Long Summer Rides

Harley — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 19:45:51 +0000

Wouldn’t you know it, just when we have enough daylight in the evenings to go on a nice ride; it’s so hot you can hardly stand to go. Who wants to stop every 15 minutes of so for a drink? And if you shed all the riding gear, won’t you end up sacrificing safety just to keep cool?

Here are a few ideas to help you enjoy those summer rides.

We don’t want to sacrifice safety to keep cool, but a lightweight jacket can improve your hydration by preventing your skin from drying out due to sun and wind exposure. And should the unthinkable happen, while it won’t give you the protection of leather, it would afford you some protection.

Always wear light colored clothing. Light colored materials will reflect the suns rays rather than absorbing them. So the difference in temperature for you in a dark colored jacket or helmet as vs light colored would be quite significant. Many people have summer and winter helmets. Wearing a white or light colored helmet, jacket and pants in the summer just makes sense.

Start hydrating your body several hours before you start your ride. Your body needs half its weight in ounces of water each day. In other words, if you weigh 150 pounds, you need to drink 75 ounces of water each day to stay hydrated. And that’s on an average day. If you’re going to be doing manual labor or riding a motorcycle out in the heat you’ll need to replenish the fluids you lose to keep you cool.

To remain hydrated on a long ride you’ll need to make frequent stops to have a drink. You can carry bottled water in your saddlebags – some people freeze the bottles so they’ll be cool – or you can store them in an insulated bag to keep them that way.

But remember, you’ll need to stop for a drink every 15 to 20 minutes if you intend to keep your body properly hydrated. If you’re planning one of those really long trips, you may want to invest in a Camelbak. This would be a way to drink without having to stop so often for a break. But even though they may seem inconvenient, stopping frequently during very hot weather is still a good idea.

Remember, even with the best laid plans some times people will find themselves getting dehydrated. If you begin to suffer from dizziness, confusion, mental fog or just diminished reaction times, or if you stop sweating, get off the road and out of the sun. These are the signs you’re headed for a heat stroke.

Camelbak Hydration System

Harley — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 18:31:44 +0000

The Camelbak Hydration System is great to help you stay hydrated on a long summer ride. No need to stop every few minutes to take a drink. Here you'll find the selection of Camelbak packs available today:

camelbak hydration bag

$15.00

2h 54m

CamelBak HydroBak 15 L or 50 oz

$25.00

4h 43m

Camelbak Hydrolink Conversion Kit Bite Valve Quick Release SKU 90512 Free Ship

$4.19

5h 49m

Never Used Camelbak Peak Bagger

$45.99

7h 29m

New Olive Drab Camelbak Friction Fighter NT Gloves Large

$69.95

8h 54m

2 3 Liter Hydration Systems 1 Camelbak Desert Camo and 1 Skilcraft Digital camo

$28.55

9h 7m

Camelbak Motherlode

$100.00

9h 42m

Camelbak hydration system water back pack 70 oz Rogue

$50.00

10h 25m

CamelBak 2L 70oz 122cu in Desert Camo

$25.00

11h 35m

Piggy Backer

Harley — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 16:25:44 +0000

Sometimes you just need a little more space to carry the stuff you need. The Piggy Backer Compact Cargo Trailer is just what you need. They come in a regular or an extra large size. Here are the Piggy Backer trailers available today:

I've checked out the online marketplace for auctions but didn't find any,
check back soon.

How Do You Learn To Ride A Motorcycle?

Harley — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 12:02:41 +0000

You've got the bug, and you want to buy a motorcycle. They look like loads of fun and can be an economical means of transportation. But what's the best way to learn how to ride?

Well, that depends on where you live. Here in the US, probably the best way to learn to ride is to find the nearest Motorcycle Safety Foundation Rider Courses. Every state has them and you simply locate the one nearest you. And its worth every penny . . . they even supply the bike and helmet.

The course is approximately five hours of classroom instruction and ten hours of riding exercises in a controlled environment. This will provide a complete introduction to motorcycling. After you complete the course, you take the certificate down to your local license office to get your license.

In the UK, you would learn to ride with a CBT (COMPULSORY BASIC TRAINING) course. The CBT course covers 5 elements, and takes from 6 to 8 hours to complete. The course can be spread over 2 or more days if you prefer.

You must have a regular drivers license to take the CBT course and your vision will be checked during the first element of the course, so you should remember to bring any vision correctives you need. You can either use your own insured motorcycle and legal helmet, or you can simply rent both motorcycle and helmet at the training centres.

This is a very comprehensive course and will teach you all aspects of riding a motorcycle. You should feel quite comfortable on a motorcycle once you've gone through the course.

When you've successfully completed the course you'll be issued a Certificate of Completion of training (DL196). (This certificate has a 2 year lifespan, so if you don't pass both your theory and practical tests in that time you'll have to take the CBT course again.)

In order to actually ride a motorbike you will need to pass your theory test first. Both the theory and CBT certificates are good for 2 years by which time you will need to have passed the Direct Access course.

What Motorcycles Have The Best Resale Value?

Harley — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 15:21:56 +0000

If you're smart, one of the many things you take into consideration when you purchase a new or new to you bike is resale value. After all, you can't figure the cost to ride and maintain a bike without taking into account the replacement, trade-in and/or resale.

The bike you purchase may look hot and be really inexpensive, but if you can't give it away when you want to trade up or decide riding is not your thing than the cost of that bike goes way, way up. The cost of any bike is the amount of money - in total - you spend to purchase and maintain that bike, minus the amount of money you should get back at trade in.

The bikes with the best resale value will probably always be the European exotics such as Ducati, Moto Guzzi, and MVGusta. After that, the BMW and Harley Davidson also have great resale value. Honda would be the next bike on the list, with Yamaha and Kawasaki neck and neck bringing up the rear. Any other of the asian brands out there, for the most part, don't have a resale value to speak of.

And while often we steer clear of used vehicles, without a doubt, besides total destruction of a bike, the single biggest one time expense on any motorcycle is that first time it's driven off the lot.

So bottom line, you want the most for your money? Buy a used motorcycle. Let someone else eat the expense of driving that new bike off the showroom floor. And only shop for a bike that retains it's value, one of the European bikes (if you can afford them), a BMW, Harley or Honda.

DOT Helmets

Harley — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 02:45:45 +0000

There are some terrific buys on DOT Helmets, so you're at the right place. Here are the ones available today.

If for some reason you don't find the specific DOT Helmet you're looking for, try modifying your search.

If you are unsure of your correct size, check here: Motorcycle Helmets - Measure for the Correct Fit.

Black Blue Skull Motorcycle DOT Approved Half Helmet Harley Chopper Custom Biker

$27.99

4d 16h 4m

DOT German CHROME Motorcycle Half Helmet Chopper Cruiser Biker with Goggles L

$29.95

7h 48m

DOT Motorcycle Half Helmet Scooter Biker Gloss Black S

$16.15

2d 8h 44m

DOT Motorcycle Half Helmet Scooter Biker Matte Solid Black S

$16.15

2d 8h 53m

Matte Solid Black Motorcycle Half Helmet Scooter DOT Biker S

$29.95

2d 8h 50m

DOT German Motorcycle Street Biker Half Helmet Black XL

$29.95

10h 35m

MOTORCYCLE BIKER GLOSSY BLACK DOT HALF HELMET SMALL

$41.95

18h 15m

DOT MOTORCYCLE HELMET SKULL ON FRONT RED BLACK SIZE S

$22.50

4h 21m

DOT German Carbon Fiber Motorcycle Half Helmet Biker XL

$16.95

8h 21m

(Dot Helmets are helmets approved by the Department of Transportation as safe for use on a Motorcycle. If you are in a State requiring helmets while operating a Motorcycle, your helmet would need to be DOT Approved. See which states require helmets by clicking the link in the left sidebar.)

Unfortunately many of the novelty helmets sold today are not DOT approved. There are new safety regulations which have been proposed which will require the DOT label on the back of safety-certified helmets be made larger and harder to remove.

Unfortunately, there are vendors who will remove the DOT labels from certified helmets and place them on their non-certified novelty helmets. These new regulations would also strengthen the DOT helmet safety certification program.

This comes at a time when some states are set to repeal their helmet laws. But the numbers don't lie. Your chance of survival or of escaping an accident without life altering injuries is greatly increase by wearing a DOT approved helmet.