Preparing for the worst is always good!

Why do should we wear protective gearing when we ride a motorcycle? because it save your life!

Some might think riding a motorcycle is cool and wearing jeans and tshirt is cool? 

This is one of the reason why people wear protective gearing because of road rash, road rash are cause when one who are riding a motorcycle with no gear for example a t-shirt and jeans (regular street clothing). Street clothing does not hold up well when crashing. 

According to JAFRUM “Motorcyclists rarely come out on top when in a collision with a automobile so it’s essential that you protect yourself by using motorcycle protective gear whenever you ride.
Just stop and think for a minute what it would feel like to slide across a roadway at 55 MPH without adequate protection for your head and body. Not good. ”

Riding with gearing is always good, unless you want to have road rash or don’t want others to recognized who you are then don’t wear gear! but other wised wear all gearing as much as possible.

According to Madmoto said Many bikers believe if they ride safely, and don’t speed, they will be fine. The European Constructors Association (ACEM) have spent a long time researching motorcycle accidents in Europe, and they have issued a very detailed report on accidents involving motorcycles. The majority of accidents happened at relatively low speeds, typically lower than 30 mph.

As the study have showed the there are more injuries on the leg/foot area because people do not think that that is the most important area, 20% injuries are on the upper trunk, 22% are head/neck injuries. According to JAFRUM, when buying a motorcycle helmet “you have alot of choices in style and price, just make sure the helmet you choose has DOT certification, This mean your helmet has passed strict safety test, you also want to make srue you the the right fit. You want your helmet to be snug on your head, it should’nt slide back and forth. you also don’t want it to be too tight or have uncomfortable pressure points.”

Motorcycle Jacket and Long pants, during the summer it is hot and uncomfortable when wearing long sleeves and leather pants but would you rather bleed or sweat? WEAR ALL LONG SLEEVES and ALL GEARING AS POSSIBLE! A thick textile motorcycle jacket or leather motorcycle jacket are the best when you hit the pavement!

Gloves are the most important gear! Your hands are the first to hit the ground when you crash! According to study Leather gloves with protective knuckles is the best choice.

Boots is anther important gear that can help prevent injuries when crashing. wear something that cover all the way up pass the ankle.

Most of all people! ride safe out there wear all protective gear! WOULD YOU RATHER BLEED OR SWEAT? you decide!!!

Why do people ride motorcycles?

Why Do You ride Motorcycle?

In California, according  to INRIX National Traffic Scorecard 2010 Annual Report, Los Angeles was ranked as the number one and San Francisco as number six. Because of the heavy traffic area people used motorcycle to travel from and to work. Many also said that they bought a motorcycle because of a hobby and a trend, there friends started to buy motorcycle and they think it’s cool to ride a motorcycle so they would go and buy one. Later it would turn into a hobby and a passion for most. But for many of those who work far away from home. they used motorcycle as a way of transportation.

According to JAFRUM  many people ride a motorcycle because they enjoyed riding and it’s there way a mini vacation because once they are on the bike everything goes away. JAFRUM also said that “everybody’s a killjoy because they’re jealous that im going to have a ot of fun and they’re not. Basem Wasef stated:

“Riding is something most people don’t have to do, but rather feel compelled to–for a wide variety of reasons ranging from passion to practicality.One of the most distinct things about riding is that nothing feels quite like a motorcycle; the thrill of being at one with a two-wheeled machine that weighs only a few hundred pounds is one of the purest ways to get from point A to B, and the risks involve sometimes even heighten that enjoyment. Perhaps Robert Pirsig said it best in Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: “You’re completely in contact with it all. You’re in the scene, not just watching it anymore, and the sense of presence is overwhelming.””

 

Many said they ride because of freedom, and according to Bigapplemotorcyleschool  “When you’re riding a motorcycle on a nice day, soaking in the sun, you enjoy the freedom of being outdoors. There is nothing between you and nature. You are not surrounded by a metal and glass cage – the sights are brighter, sounds sharper and smells vibrant. When you’re in control of your own spirit, the destination becomes unimportant and the ride is the thing.”

One other reason why people ride a motorcycle because many said it saves gas and it also save time, according to the company Big Apple Motorcycle School, “motorcycling can be economical with most bikes getting over 40 miles-per-gallon. Some smaller motorcycles and scooters can get upwards of 60 mpg. Motorcycles also get a break on tolls, can go into High-Occupancy-Vehicle lanes and take up less space to park. If more people rode motorcycles, our roads would be less congested and people would arrive at work with a smile on their faces!”

 

Communicating with other motorcyclist while riding?

Learning hand signals can be useful because motorcyclist can’t hear or make eye contact with other vehicle. It is also helpful to other riders because if a person in front see something that the person in the back cant they would signal for the person in the back that there is a hazard on the ground or somewhere in the front. Hand signals are usually used in a group ride, In a group ride there are always a leader who give out the hand signal to let others in the back know what’s going on.

Accoring to Scotty Blog “While riding a motorcycle you may need to use your hands as a non-verbal declaration between you and others around you. Hand signals are needed where speech may not be heard over road/wind noise, loud exhaust or distance, and should only be used when it’s safe to remove one hand from the handlebar. Use your left arm/hand for signals, as you need to keep your right hand on the throttle and ready to brake, except while stopped.

The Motorcyclists basics; the Left turn signal, the left arm is extended at a 90-degree angle from the body with open forward facing palm and fingers pointed straight out. The Right turn, same as the left turn but bend at the elbow up and fingers pointed skyward. The slow/stop signal is elbow out about 45-degrees from the body and open palm facing back with fingers extended. The above signals must be used if turn signals, brake light of your vehicle are not functioning for any reason. More motorcycle specific signals can be used daily with friends, groups or a passenger” (Scotty).

These information are usefully specially when riding in a group, it is also good to remember how many is in a group. Once the leader of the group have stop they should pay attention to the person who is missing.

 

 

Motorcycle Maintenance

Cleaning and maintenance the Motorcycle! Preparing your self every time you go out for a ride is a good practice but cleaning and maintaining the bike will also keep your bike happy and running when you need it. It is also one of the reason why people crashed. People also crash because of failure on the motorcycle. For example if a foot peg broke down while your turning and your foot hit the ground or if not putting a safety pin over your axle wheel nut and your wheel fall off while riding on the freeway at 65mile per  hour. It would be a Disaster!!

According to BikerHiway “New Motorcycles have a break in period of about 500-1000 miles and require an oil change. Most oil changes after the break in period are anywhere from 3,000 to 5000 miles or every 3-6 months.” Maintaining the bike mean changing the motor oil, check your front and rear brake fluid level, check all break pads to see if they have life left on them, Check for leaks under the bike, check the tires for cracks nail etc. check all bolts and nuts for loosen. Emotorcycle state that keeping up with your motorcycle maintenance is important! and for more information on how to maintenance the bike look in the owner manual for more informations

 

Riding In The Rain

Some might say, when the winter come motorcyclist have to put there bike in storage or garage it! WRONG! some of us love to ride in the rain! and to be able to do so we have rain gears that protect us from the wet and cold. But what about the visibility? That is to be determine by the rider, how prepared are you?

Rain gear is the most important against the wet weathers, when your hands get wet and cold or any part of the body is cold it is difficult to concentrate and focus in the rain. It’s already hard to see when riding in wet weather but not being able to stay dry is difficult. Rain gears will protect you from wet and cold and it can be purchase at anywhere from Aerostich, Alpinestars, Firstgear, etc.

No Trunk Space on a Motorcycle?

Carrying stuff such as grocery, food, etc. on a motorcycle can be difficult because lack of space, there are know trunk space where you can carry anything. Not until our human kind came out with Saddle bags, tail bag, and tank bag. These invention have help us travel far distance on our motorcycle, not just for traveling but for grocery shopping or even going down the street to pick up a pack of beer.

Saddle bags are usually carry/attached to sport cruisers for example Harley Davidson is one of the bike that would carry saddle bags. According to Honda Motorcycle saddle bags “Harley saddle bags are motorcycle accessories which are obtained and set directly into conserve the motorcycle rider carry items when traveling–and are crucial for just about any severe motorcycle fanatic…Students who experience motorbikes obtain saddlebags rather great to carry their text books as very well as supplies. Furthermore it’s a wonderful offer stock refreshments and water should the rider will be out with an extended size of time.” Saddle bags has been came out for many years now and have been used my many motorcyclist who own cruisers.

Cruisers motorcycles are not the only one that have saddle bags. Tail bag and Tank bag are also can be use on cruisers like Harley Davidson but its often used on sport, dirt, adventure, dual sport motorcycles. People enjoy motorcycle and would rather ride there motorcycle to work than driving there car would buy a tank bag or tail bag to carry there grocery in or food etc in. Tank and tank bag can be purchase at any store such as: Leatherup.com, Motorcyclesuperstore.com, Cyclegear.com. People never think that motorcycle cant carry stuff on there bike but they are wrong there are many ways motorcyclist can travel with luggage.

According to the article BMW Entertainment Cargo by Mike Werner, Ricardo Kuhn is a master motorcycle cargo transporter, he have transport many things on his motorcycle. Nothing has stop him from carrying stuff on his bike. He enjoy motorcycling and he doesn’ t let anything get in the way. “Ricardo lives in the San Francisco area, and runs Motomacondo. He doesnt have a car, since he prefer motorcycles. He often needs to go and pick or deliver consignments, and the only way he can do it is stack stuff on his motorcycle!”

Wear Protective Gear When Riding a Motorcycle!

According to National Occupant Protection Use Survey conducted by National Center for Statistics and Analysis of National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said that the use of motorcycle helmets has decreased from 67 percent in 2009 to 54 percent in 2010. As you can see people are being more careless, and for that reason our death rate on motorcycles have also increased. In the article Deadly Motorcycle Accident Statistics by Danny Workman said in U.S. motorcycle death rate have increase 78% between the years of 2000 to 2007. The main reason for the increased because of careless riders who do not wear protective gearing and prepared themselves for the worst. One of the most important habit that very rider should practice is always wear full protective gearing when getting on a motorcycle. Some of us might not think that anything can happen even if you’re going down the street to buy something is safe. It is wrong! a drunk driver or some one talking on the phone while driving can easily crash you, so the best thing is to wear all protective gearing.

One of the main protective gear we can purchase is the helmet. Protecting your head is the main part when riding a motorcycle. Many motorcyclist want to have the freedom of not wearing a helmet, and according to Motorcycle Blog From JAFRUM, state that many people think wearing a helmet is only good for when they have an accident, and since they are good riders, they never see themselves having an accident. A helmet is not just protecting your head from accidents, but it also protect the noise from the engine, the wind, and also bugs rocks etc that hit your face.

Wearing protective pants is also anther important habit that every rider should do to prevent road rash. People might think that jeans should save you from a crash. YOUR WRONG! According to JAFRUM.com, within a second the jeans will burned away and your body will be sliding over the pavement, leaving you with a road rash. Jeans will not stop road rash, special motorcycle jeans where you can find them at Motorcycle Superstore, Leather Up, STG, and much more site and stores where you can purchase protective pants/gear.

Gloves is anther protective gear you can purchase that a local motorcycle store that will protect your hands from road rash. Hands anther part of the body that need to be protected in an accident. They’re just not protecting you from accident but also from the cold weather. When you hands are cold and frozen from long ride it is hard to react fast when needed to because they’re frozen without you knowing it.

Its goes the same for boots, it is also an important protective gear that a rider should have. When falling your leg would be one of the first to hit the ground. According to the Motorcycle Crash Data , study have show that 30% change of the foot is going to be injured.

Wearing all gear and always prepared for the worst is the best when riding a motorcycle, As people might say “you rather sweat wearing all gearing than bleed wearing know gears.”

Hello fellow Riders!

Are you living in California and tired of traffic? Yes! specially in Los Angeles and San Francisco is the worse, I hate having to wake up a few hours early to get to work/school.

According to INRIX National Traffic Scorecard 2010 Annual Report, Los Angeles was ranked as the number one and San Francisco as number six for the most traffic city’s in California. To avoid traffic and waking up early to get to work and school, many people use motorcycle as a transportation. Motorcycles are easy to get around cars and traffic, according to Reducing Congestion with Lane Splitting by Audrey Nesbitt, “Lane Splitting,” allows motorcyclists to ride legally in the space between two lines of vehicles during heavy traffic conditions which in effect allows the creation of a new lane and allows motorcyclists to keep moving even when traffic is slow or stopped. The main part of Lane Splitting is to avoid traffic on California freeways but it can be dangerous if the motorcyclist or vehicle do not use safe driving practices.

Some say lane splitting is dangerous, reckless, crazy, irresponsible, unfair, etc. Riderzlaw.com said that many cager (aka car driver) feels that if we have to wait in traffic, motorcyclist should too. If lane splitting is so dangerous and reckless, irresponsible and unfair then it should be illegal, No most people think that lane splitting is not legal and think that they’re right. I am a motorcyclist my self, I use my motorcycle as a transportation to get from home to work and school. I have came across many cager that wanted to run me off the road, i even have people telling me that lane splitting is illegal and for that reason I like to blog about it to let people know that lane splitting is not illegal.