Motorcycle Articles

For most beginners, they don’t have enough clues on optimizing with the basic gears required to become a motorcyclist. Some beginners think they need to purchase their bikes only and they’re off to their riding spree. In riding motorcycles, either beginners or experts, the need for motorcycle gears is a must and is very essential. There are specific gears for different types of usage and purposes. If you run your motorcycles for commuting or for leisure, entertainment or traveling, you need great useful accessories and gears to protect yourself from unwanted circumstances.

Many riders think that carrying a driver’s license is all it takes to freely commit on the road. That is definitely true and considered the most essential requirement for driving. You also need to carry your motorcycle’s license. Like people, every motorcycle needs to be identified for public use and reference.

Let’s now begin with your first motorcycle accessories. First and foremost for your safety, provide yourself a helmet. This protective gear emphasizes on your head, face and brain. Helmets have played many life-saving roles to motorcycle riders. It saves your head from being bumped and crushed on concrete roads and areas.

You will need a leather jacket for driving. These jackets are not just ordinary jackets but they are purposefully made for motorcycling. Jackets help your skin from too much heat of the sun, pollution and helps lessen the impact of air from hitting your skin. You can purchase these jackets on motorcycle gear and accessory shops. You can find jackets in the internet too in different motorcycle websites.

In order for you to have a good grip with the handlebars, buy a pair of gloves. Choose the cushion type gloves for your comfort and gripping. For foot protection, it is appropriate to wear boots. Boots will prevent your feet from hitting the lower hot parts of your vehicle. Since your feet plays a big role in shifting gears in the foot pedal, they need to be covered well. You need to wear jeans to protect the whole leg. Don’t wear tight ones because you definitely will not find it very comfortable in riding your motorcycles.

It is important that you choose the comfortable parts and accessories to keep you in good riding conditions. It helps you achieve a good-safe ride especially on long hours of traveling. You can find these goodies on motorcycle shops and stores. If you have a computer, you can just purchase at home. There are many motorcycle websites piling up which offers you a wide variety of choices and discounts. So for your first ride, try not skipping these items for your safety. Also put in mind that your safety is in your hands. These are just but helpful things that will save your day on a busy ride.

For comments and inquiries about the article visit http://www.bestmotorcycleparts.com

by: Kay Zetkin

Safety in riding motorcycles in order to prevent injuries is a
very critical issue especially during the peak of motorcycle
season. The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons are very
much concerned about this issue since there are almost always a
lot of motorcycle accidents happening at least one every few
days. Most injuries noted from the people brought in the Level
One Trauma Units range from serious musculoskeletal injuries,
open fractures and head traumas from motorcycle accidents.

The increasing accidents are linked to the increased number of
motorcycles on the road. Records show that since 1997,
motorcycles sales increased to more than 90%. Last 2001,
motorcycles represented only 2.2 percent of all registered
vehicles in the United States and accounted for 0.34 percent of
vehicle miles traveled. However, crashes involving motorcycles
accounted for 7.6 percent of total traffic fatalities on
America’s roadways. As recently reported by the US Department of
Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
(NHTSA), in 2002 there were 42,815 fatalities from motorcycle
accidents. What’s alarming is this is the highest level of
fatality report since 1990.

While some accidents cause injuries or lifetime paralysis, some
result to fatalities. Thus, these incidents should be a constant
reminder for motorcyclists to protect themselves.

According to Maureen Finnegan, MD, professor at the University of
Texas and orthopedic surgeon at Parkland Hospital in Dallas,
most motorcycle injuries involve the extremities and the spinal
cord. Majority of fatalities are results of head injuries. Thus,
she said that the most important tip for motorcycle safety is to
wear a helmet. Wearing helmets are estimated to be 29 percent
effective in preventing fatal injuries and 67 percent effective
in preventing brain injuries for motorcyclists. Another thing is
the wearing of proper clothing in riding and of course, really
learning how to ride a motorcycle and handle certain situations
throughout the ride.

Here are other helpful tips in preventing motorcycle injuries:

• Get professionally trained in motorcycle riding. Research shows
that more than 90 percent of all riders that were involved in
crashes are just self-taught or taught by friends.

• Secure your license to drive. Nearly 27 percent or one out of
four motorcyclists involved in fatal crashes in 2001 was not
properly licensed.

• Do not drink and ride. Those most at risk in getting into
accidents are inebriated motorcyclists.

• Use helmets that meet the DOT (Department of Transportation)
standards.

• Wear protective clothing – this includes goggles or sun shades
for eye protection, jacket, full- fingered gloves, long pants and
over-the-ankle boots.

• Make sure that your motorcycle clothing and gears are made of
abrasion-resistant material, such as leather. Avoid loose,
flailing clothing that could impair your vision.

• Wearing brightly colored garments may help other vehicles
see/notice you.

• Proper maintenance and monitoring of your bike is of high
importance. Observe proper lane positioning of your bike to
further increase your visibility to drivers. Keeping a “space
cushion” between your bike and other traffic should also be kept
in mind.

• Avoid sharing a lane with a car since its driver may not expect
you to be there or may not become aware of your presence. Most
drivers look out for other bigger vehicles that they may fail to
notice you instantly unless something has happened already.

• Ride according to your skill level. Never overestimate
yourself. -30-

Kay Zetkin discovered the pleasure of writing through her daily
journals as a teen-ager. Writing in it helped sort out her
thoughts, relieve her feelings and record what she observes of
the world.

For her, writing is an effective tool to express your
viewpoints… To write is already to choose, thus, writing should
be done along with a critical mind and a caring soul. She hopes
to become more professional, skilled and mature in her craft.

Aside from writing Kay spends her time reading. Reading lets her
travel to far-off imagined places and situations. She also learns
a lot from devouring books, especially from the socio-political
and historical ones.

For comments and inquiries about the article visit
http://www.aftermarketmotorcyclepartsnow.com

By Michael Holmes

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 realize 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.

Last but not least, pick out a helmet you can wear and wear it
always. You may have a greater chance of getting injured below
the waist in a motorcycle accident, but the consequences of being
involved in an accident without a helmet just don’t bear thinking
about….

So, next time you are shopping for motorcycle clothing, give a
bit of thought to the level of protection it offers before you
buy it. You never know it could save you a lot of unnecessary
pain!

Michael Holmes is a enthusiast for all thing motorcycle. His
website, http://www.motorcycleparts-accessories-andmore.com , is a
great resource of articles aimed at motorcyclists of all levels,
including a page specifically for motorcycle clothing.

by: Kay Zetkin

There are so many choices in purchasing a motorcycle. Often what
you’d consider and compare with others are in terms of handling,
speed, luggage, space and its overall appearance. Of course,
these factors, among many others, would generally be based on
your choice between the type of bike you that’s most preferable
for your lifestyle and personality: touring, sport-touring,
sport, standard, cruiser, enduro, dual-sport and off-road.

Each type also comes with its very own riding attitude and of
course, riding gears and accessories. Notice this,
Harley-Davidson bike riders would not go out riding in the same
biking outfit and accessories as Ducati sports bike riders.

Here are several gears and accessories worth checking out for
sport bike riders. These gears would ensure riding safety and
enable you to go out riding in style, too!

Shoei RF-1000 metallic helmet – this helmet combines safety, fit
and style. It ensures comfort because of the lightweight material
its shell is made of. It has a superior ventilation and anti-fog
system, removable interior cheek pads and sturdy, removable
chinstraps. It provides increased peripheral vision, optical
clarity and 100% protection from UVA and UVB rays. The
stylishness of Shoei’s RF 1000 helmet would most probably be as
impeccable as your other riding gears.

You can also check out HJC, Arai and Nolan for other high-quality
and stylish motorcycle helmets.

AGV laser one-piece riding suit – considering that leather is the
way to go for motorcycle gears, this fashionable suit is made
from 1.44 mm premium cowhide and features double and triple
stitched seams in all high impact areas. It has a ventilated
design with Schoeller Kevlar Keprotec stretch panels inside the
sleeves and behind the knees for added comfort and plastic knee
cups and sliders for added protection. It could be easily slipped
on easily, too.

Teknic Sturgis overpants – this is made to be worn over jeans for
added protection. Composed of top grade cowhide leather, these
overpants have full-length two-way side zippers, elastic leather
waistband with a Velcro adjustable waist belt, and leather
stretch panels at the knees. It ensures the ease of your leg
movements.

Joe Rocket black leather jacket – safe and sound is an
understatement with this jacket handy. What more could you ask
when it has a plastic body armor, dual density spine pad and Full
Flex windproof sleeve panels. It is made from 1.3 mm Armor Tan
ceramic infused leather. Ventilation and added protection is also
provided by its fitted and adjustable waistband and reflective
stripe.

>>>> If you want to try out other fashionable and trusted brands for
motorcycle one-piece suits, jackets and overpants try out Aerostich, Joe
Rocket, Tourmaster, and FirstGear.

Icon barrier gloves – wearing of motorcycle-specific gloves to
protect your hands is highly recommended. Thus, there’s nothing
more preferable than Icon gloves. These stylish hand gears
feature padding on the back and padded rivets on the palm. It is
also made of flexible Stretch Schoeller chassis with a
half-fingered glove overlay for protection, rubberized rigid
armor, Aramid stitching, and integrated soft armor in the wrist
for impact protection and abrasion resistance.

Sidi Vertebra 2 Te-Por boots – superior protection is the overall
statement of these boots due to its patented Vertebra protection
system. They are reliable riding boots to protect your feet,
ankles and shins. Other features include easy-to-use screw-on
scuff pads, malleolus guards on the outer edge of each boot, a
replaceable bolt on the plastic shin plate, and optional panels
that are available in chrome and carbon fiber.

However, whatever boots you choose to wear as riding gear,
remember to tuck in your laces. This way they stay out of the
chain preventing them to hook onto the foot peg once you try to
put your feet down.

When motorcycle riding, you must always check your tires for
pressure, wear, cuts and stones. You must also check out your
engine oil and coolant levels and ensure that your headlights,
brake lights and turn signals are operational. And to further
make your bike riding enjoyable and satisfying, do not forget
your riding gears. Fashion statements can really go hand-in-hand
with motorcycle riding!
Kay Zetkin discovered the pleasure of writing through her daily
journals as a teen-ager. Writing in it helped sort out her
thoughts, relieve her feelings and record what she observes of
the world.

For her, writing is an effective tool to express your
viewpoints… To write is already to choose, thus, writing should
be done along with a critical mind and a caring soul. She hopes
to become more professional, skilled and mature in her craft.

Aside from writing Kay spends her time reading. Reading lets her
travel to far-off imagined places and situations. She also learns
a lot from devouring books, especially from the socio-political
and historical ones.

For comments and inquiries about the article visit
http://www.aftermarketmotorcyclepartsnow.com

A Purchasing Guide For
Leather Motorcycle Apparel
Michael Talbert

Since the dawn of the age of motorcycling, it was apparent that
something was needed to protect the exposed human body from the
elements. The natural solution was leather. The leather
motorcycle jacket, a style made popular by such movie icons as
James Dean and “the Fonz”, not only serves as a fashion
statement, but is an essential piece of equipment to any
serious biker for keeping warm, dry, and in one piece. A good
“riding grade” leather jacket combined with motorcycle chaps or
leather pants, will act as a second skin between you and the
road, and can quite literally “save your hide”. With all this
in mind, let’s explore the things to consider when purchasing
motorcycle leathers.

The most common material for motorcycle leather is cowhide,
chosen for its strength and durability. Buffalo hide, another
high quality leather, is made not from the U.S. buffalo, but
the water buffalo most commonly found in India and Pakistan.
Many leather products come from this part of the world, and the
Pakistanis are world renown for their expertise in the
manufacturing of leather garments. Whichever type of hide you
choose, you must understand the tanning process, and how it
adds or detracts from the quality of the leather.

Leather was of course once the skin of an animal, and therefore
must go through a tanning process to strengthen it, and to keep
it from decomposing. Tanning makes the skin stable and rot
proof without sacrificing its structure and strength. The
tanning process involves several stages, including the removal
of the hair and the outer layer of skin, as well as the fatty
part of the flesh. The hide is then stabilized by one of
several methods using animal oils, alum, chrome salts or
vegetable tanning. How it is actually finished determines the
quality, or riding grade, for our purposes.

Types of Leather

To fully understand the types of leather available, one must
first know the term “grain”. The grain is simply the epidermis,
or outer layer of the animal’s skin. While imperfections such as
cuts, scars, and scratches will exist, the grain in its natural
state has the best fiber strength, and therefore the best
durability. The grain also has natural breathability, resulting
in greater comfort to the wearer.

Finished Split Leather

The middle or lower section of a hide that has been split into
two or more thicknesses. A polymer coating is applied and
embossed to mimic grain leather. Finished splits should only be
used in low stress applications because they basically have no
grain. If the polymer coating is left out it is often used to
make suede. Not considered to be riding grade, but can look
good nevertheless.

Top Grain Leather

Top grain leather has been sanded to remove scars and
imperfections, then sprayed or pasted for a uniform look. The
smooth side is where the hair and the natural grain used to be.
Top grain is not the same quality as full grain or naked
leather, but thicknesses of 1.2-3mm make this type of leather a
very strong and durable riding grade material.

Full-Grain and Naked Leather

Full-Grain leather is made from the finest hides, and has not
been sanded to remove imperfections. Only the hair has been
removed. In the case of Naked Leather, where nothing other than
the dye is added; this very soft leather requires no breaking in
period. Hides are typically 2mm thick, and must be hand picked
for uniformity. The natural full-grain naked leather will wear
better than other leather, and will actually improve over the
years. This type of leather is the ultimate riding grade; the
most sought after, and consequently, the most expensive.

Now that we know what type of leather we want, we must
understand the fact that leather is hot, and understand the
options that we have for the climate we live in. For winter
biking, a jacket with side laces and a belt will allow you to
adjust the jacket to fit snugly against the upper body. Of
course, being able to fully zip up only adds to your protection
from the wind. You can also wear a leather vest underneath your
motorcycle jacket for extra warmth. For hot summer days, a
leather jacket with air vents allows the air to circulate
underneath the jacket and around your body. For an all year
round jacket, consider one with a zip or snap out insulated
lining.

Leather is not meant to get wet, as that tends to deplete the
natural oils, and it is advisable to wear a rain suit over your
leathers in inclement weather. However if they do get wet, allow
them to dry naturally away from extreme heat. If the leather
seems to be losing its luster, it can be oiled to improve its
appearance. This supplements the natural oils in the leather
itself, which can be washed out through repeated exposure to
water. Frequent oiling of leather with mink oil or other
commercially available products will keep your leathers supple
and improve their lifespan dramatically.

Now that you have found the perfect biker jacket, take care of
it, and it will reward you with years of wear. The typical
lifetime of a heavy textile jacket will be from 3 to 6 years at
the most. A well maintained top quality leather motorcycle
jacket will easily give you 10 years and more of riding
pleasure!

About The Author: Michael Talbert is the founder of Florida
based Biker Leather Ltd., an online retailer of leather and
textile motorcycle apparel. For more information on leather
and leather care, you can visit this web site at
http://NakedLeatherBiker.com

Riding the motorcycle has always been hazardous. That is the main reason vehicles riders prefer automobiles rather than motorcycles. More and more motorcycle accidents have been reported each year that is why there have been strict rules implemented in motorcycle riding to decrease such cases.

Helmets are specially made to protect the motorcycle rider form encountering hazards in the highways. The rules on wearing helmets have been strictly implemented and it has been found out that cases of accidents have been lessened. This was achieved and continuously helped the people understand that it’s not just about wearing one but for life saving matters too.

Helmets can save your head from a deadly accident. Helmets should be worn properly and should fit your head size properly. Wearing a well-fitted helmet is appropriate and more secure especially if it has fastening belts for you to tighten and adjust with comfort.

There are different kinds of wearable helmets for your choice and depending upon the type of motorcycle you drive. There are exclusive helmets for dirt bikes, sport bikes and speed bikes. For fast riding, a full face covered helmet should be worn to prevent too much air from getting into your face and eyes. Imagine riding a fast lane at top speed with the air smashing into your face? That’s very rude. This type of head gear offers full protection and comfort features. It also protects your ears from too much engine noise on the road.

The open face helmet is still quite risky because it only protects the upper half of your head but not entirely. This kind of helmet is not really very advisable for usage. The only advantage of this is that it’s cheap. But would you cut short your money for an expensive hospital bill when you aren’t caught by luck on the streets? Very few riders purchase this kind of helmets because it offers slight protection and for some, they consider it not cool because of its design and built.

Off road are dirt helmets which are used for racing purposes. In racing, riders should be very sure of their helmets because racing invites most of the risk to committing accidents. Before riding, they should make sure that their head gears fit their size. If not very exact, at least choose the helmet which is next to your head size.

No matter how heavy you feel in wearing these head gears, think twice and think of your safety and it will pay off everything. If you aren’t comfortable in wearing one, think of its worth and life-saving offers and it will pay off everything. Don’t put your life to risk over some laziness.

For comments and inquiries about the article visit http://www.bestmotorcycleparts.com

Alastair Hamilton

The major professional road bikes riders ride the major cycle
races, and they are grouped together into the UCI Pro Tour and
all the best races are included

The Best Riders Ride The Best Races.

The major cycle races in the world of bike racing are now all
part of the UCI Pro Tour Races, this is quite a big list, which
you can find below. All of the twenty Pro Tour teams have to
ride them along with other teams invited by the organizers, who
are usually local teams or the best of the lower ranked
Continental Tour teams. All the races have a complicated points
system that would take too long to explain here.

The Pro Tour Races are split into sections, which are: -

• The Spring Classics,
• The Major Tours,
• The Autumn Classics,
• The Shorter Tours,
• The World Championships,

And then there are the other important but not so famous races.

The Major Tours.

The BIG three, the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia and the
Vuelta a España, they are all three weeks long and are the
hardest races on the calendar and are the major cycle races of
the year. All three go over the biggest mountains in their
respective countries and venture in to neighbouring ones,
sometimes for a few days. Until recently all bike racers rode
the “Big Three”, now they specialise and pick and chose their
objectives. The organisers are not too happy about the UCI Pro
Tour as they feel they are losing some of their power over
their own races and were only included at the last minute this
year and are still arguing over next year.

The Spring Classics.

The Spring Classics are the monuments of the one day races, all
are held in the more northern European countries, apart from the
first one, Milan-San Remo, but which is in the north of Italy in
March and can get bad weather, like the others. The Tour of
Flanders, Gent-Wevelgem and Paris-Roubaix are all ridden over
the worst road conditions possible, with short sharp hills and
cobbles, when it rains these roads turn into mud baths and are
as easy to ride on as an ice rink. The others are more hilly
and more suited to Tour riders and the better climbers, all
these races are a must to see as anything can happen, but it is
always a hard man who wins a major cycle race in the spring.

The Autumn Classics.

The Autumn Classics start just after the Tour de France, before
and after the Vuelta a España and around the World
championships. All these races have different characters and
are held in different countries around Europe. The best known
are the Classic San Sebastian in Spain, which is hard and
hilly, the Paris-Tours, which is mostly flat and to round off
the season, the Giro di Lombardia, which is the last big race
of the Pro Tour and is held, like Milan-San Remo, in the north
of Italy.

The Shorter Stage Races.

These shorter stage races are dotted around the season and
around Europe, some are used as training races for the stars to
tune there form for the big stage races, but all are very
important and carry much prestige for all. Paris-Nice is the
first and is always a good pointer to a riders form for the
Spring Classics or the Giro d’Italia. Then the more hilly races
like Pays Vasco, Tour de Romadie, Tour de Swiss and the Dauphine
Libere are a good build up for the Tour de France. They are all
hard fought for wins in themselves and never easy.

The World Championships.

The World Championships are now held very late in the season
(September) and the big stars of the Tour de France don’t
usually ride, but for the single day specialists its still the
race to win, and never won easily. The rainbow jersey is the
jersey all riders dream of wearing for a year and will fight
hard for it. The “Worlds” are the only races that riders
compete for their country and not their sponsor, so there can
be some strange allegiances.

Other Races.

There are other races on the Pro Tour calendar that are very
important but not so well known, everyone wants to win these
also, and in the end a win is a win. The Pro Tour teams can
also ride in the lower Continental Tour races, some of these
are well known and very prestigious, they carry less UCI points
but are hard fought over, there is never an easy win in
Professional cycle sport, especially in the major cycle races.

About The Author: Alastair Hamilton publishes regularly
technical articles on road bikes (
http://www.bike-cycling-reviews.com/road-bikes.html ) to some
cycling online magazines. Reach further reviews on bike
components and cycling news at
http://www.bike-cycling-reviews.com