Motorcycle Traveling and Tips To Prepare You
One of the best ways to truly see the United States is from the saddle of a motorcycle. I have ridden through many states with trips over six thousand miles in length including two solo trips from New Jersey to the Sturgis Rally in South Dakota, and to Pike’s Peak in Colorado. I have found some tips and techniques that have worked well for me and I’d like to share them with you.
There are basically two ways to travel by motorcycle, probably one of the more popular but less spiritual is what some call “credit card camping” which is basically rolling from hotel to motel for your sleeping accommodations and buying all your meals on the road. I look forward to trying this method someday when my writing starts raking in the big bucks. About the only supplies you’d need for a trip like this (if your definition of comfort is not too demanding) would be: Rain Gear, Camera/Film/Batteries,First Aid Kit, Change of Clothes,Sun block (for those of us not clad in our riding jump suits), Sunglasses, and a Map
Personally I look forward to trying a trip in this fashion with only my jeans, T-shirt, and boots. I’ve been wet before and most motels and hotels have some kind of laundry area and plenty of towels to wrap up in. I might bring an extra pair of sock in a zip lock bag though, dry feet are happy feet.
The other way to travel and personally my favorite is to camp out between destinations; this is the cheapest and most immersing way to travel. Like they say it’s the journey not the destination. All the equipment you would need can be found at your local or online backpacking equipment supplier. In addition to the above listed equipment, here is a list of what I usually bring for a typical solo long distance, or overnight trip: One person backpacking tent, Ground pad for sleeping bag, Sleeping bag, Single burner multi-fuel backpacking stove, Fuel bottle with extra fuel (can also be used for bike), Cooking kit (stove usually fits inside pot with lid), Cup for tea or coffee, One meal for each days dinner and one energy or protein meal replacement bar for breakfast (grab lunch on the road), Two water bottles one with measuring increments on it for cooking. Candle lantern with one candle for each day of the trip and a Small LED headlamp for walking around the site and digging through saddle bags.
I chose backpacking/mountaineering equipment for two reasons, A: I already owned a bunch of it since that’s my other favorite way to find inner peace, and B: backpacking/mountaineering equipment packs down small withstands tremendous abuse and is usually multi-use equipment ex: pot is used for bowl etc. Using a multi-fuel stove has several advantages, you will never be unable to prepare a hot meal because these stoves will burn just about any liquid fuel like gas, kerosene, jet fuel, and even dry cleaning fluid (if you can find that I don’t think your far from fast food:) If you run your stove on regular gas or stove fuel you are in luck because your extra fuel bottle can also be used to feed your bike in case your in a jam. E don’t mean enough my fellow travelers.
This may seem like roughing it to some people but its luxury travel for others. Starting out with a light breakfast like an energy bar with some coffee or tea gives you a quick start on the day and speaking for me I generally don’t like to have a big breakfast before heading out for a days worth of riding, I’d rather be looking for fun side destinations than a bathroom.
Stopping for lunch on the road allows you the luxury of not having to unpack your stove, food etc. just to make one meal (trust me if you do it, you’ll only do it once) it’s worth parting with a few bucks just to not have to repack your bike.
Sleeping under the stars is not only relaxing but it can save you a bunch of cash as well. The average motel or hotel near an interstate, at least in the middle of the US averages about sixty-five dollars a night whereas the average campground is about ten dollars a night, on a week long trip that adds up to quite a bit of souvenir money. If you are traveling in the northeast US those same rooms can run your a hundred plus per night the closer you get to New York City. Since I mentioned it, in case you are wondering how to deal with souvenirs on the road, just stop by your local post office or UPS store and ship them to your home or to a friend’s house, so they can hold them for you till you return. This is also a good way to deal with exposed film from your camera and the not so rare event when you find out you over packed again. The post office or other shippers usually have everything you need to package your stuff boxes, padding, tape etc. keeping those saddle bags light make for a happy rider and better gas mileage too.
It does not matter what style or make of bike you ride as long as you watch your weight distribution, the only major difference you will experience between bikes will be in the way that you pack for the trip. I have gone on trips on dual sport (on and off road bikes) which are the equivalent of a giant dirt bike, sport bikes, and full dress touring bikes. I have no trouble packing all that gear into my Harley Electra Glide Classic these days, but I also have some great memories of strapping firewood to my Kawasaki KLR 650 and having kids and their parents chuckling watching me try to get back on the bike with my backpack on, so never let the style of bike you enjoy mess up your travel plans. Planning the trip is sometimes just as much fun as the trip itself, and it always makes your travels go smoother.
Robert Hoffman is the President of Mortgage Company Rocks, Dinar Inc., and Southern Bike Night TV.
SBNTV is areality biker TV show which gives the viewer a one of a kind real look into the bike community.
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Motor Homes And Motorcycle Loading Tips
If you have a large motor home (a Class A type) you can buy a loading ramp that will allow you to load the big heavy bike on the back of the motor home. But, the RV must be designed to take this load. Not all motor homes are designed to take on additional towing loads, but many are. Check with the lift manufacture on how to select a motor home that will accommodate their ramp system. Beware the cost of these Class A motor homes are outrageous. The larger motor home can be ordered to store bikes in a special compartment.
Danger: Loading or unloading a motorcycle onto a gravity ramp is dangerous no matter how many safety precautions you take. If the bike falls on you or the ramp breaks the motorcycle and ramp will entangle and crush you, likely unto death. The best system is to use the automatic loaders that will pull the motorcycle into the bed of a pick up truck. Pak-Rak works well. It will not work for custom bikes with long fork rakes and wide back tires, but for most all production bikes it will work just fine if the wheel base is no more than 67.5″ long (but overall length of bike and tire width size needs to be the final consideration if it is to fit on the rack).
All Harley Davidson’s and Honda’s usually will work fine, but check wheelbase first. Pak-Rak may be offering a larger rack system for custom bikes. Automated ramps are expensive, but a lot cheaper than paying a doctor thousands of dollars in medical fees and dealing with a life-long physical disfiguring or back injury. It is better to pay for a good automatic ramp. Amerideck also makes an automatic lift system (see our links page). JoeHauler also makes a lift that lets you haul your bike behind your car, truck or RV and it is supported by the vehicle tow hitch.
Also, there is another benefit to the automated ramp system that is well worth the price of the ramp many times over. Convenience and ease of operation. It laboring and time consuming to set up ramps to unload and load a motorcycle and many times you will not pull the bike off the truck to cruise around a city or town “because it is too much work to load up the bike.” With the automated ramp you push a button and the bike is down and ready to go in about 3 minutes or less!
I have found using these automated ramps permit a higher quality of life because now I can ride in areas of the country I would normally never would have. How many times have you traveled and said, “Gee, it would be nice to ride those mountains” but you could not because unloading the bike would be too much trouble.
You need to discover the weight load limitations of the auto-loader motorcycle lifts and tire size limitations. Today the bikes are heavier and have wider tires, so modifications need to be made to some auto-loaders to beef them up in strength, even for some heavy stock bikes.
So, there you have it. If you want to load your big bike alone without assistance it can be done, but you need to do your research. More motorcycle dealers should have demonstration ramps so customers can try the product before purchasing.
There are new ramp designs always being made that are not covered here. Search the Internet under “Motorcycle Ramp” as a key word. Some use power to pull the bike into the truck, but there is always a catch to watch out for. Can you close the tailgate or if not can you stow it by the truck bed near the back cab? Can you still tow another vehicle with the automatic loading ramp installed?
Will the ramp work with your truck? Is the truck bed size sufficient for the device to be installed into your truck? How large a motorcycle will the ramp accept? What is the ramp’s size or other limitations? Can one person operate the ramp or are two persons required? What is the weight limit the ramp can handle? Most may not be able to accept motorcycles with large size tires or extended forks.
Robert Hoffman is the President of Southern Bike Night,LLC, Mortgage Company Rocks, Inc., Real Estate Company Rocks, Inc., and Dinar Inc –
Motorcycle Riding And Tips To Make Sure Your Safe
Riding a motorcycle can be real dangerous at times. Riding at night is always dangerous. Here are some helpful tips to help keep you safe and visible.
Reflective Tape. Get the pants and jacket with the reflective stripes already built in. This serves to enlighten other road users to your presence. Also, try and find a reflective tape to line the side of your wheel rims.
Braking at night. You’ll notice that braking with the front brakes causes the patch of light from your headlights to dip towards you. The solution is to opt for rear braking and engine breaking to maximize the view of the road ahead of you.
Visual Purple. Ever noticed that looking into a bright light at night cause temporary blindness? This is because a substance in your eyes called visual purple becomes temporarily disturbed. Avoid looking directly into headlights.
Your Visor. Due to the nature of light, small scratches on your visor can diffract the beam causing a starburst effect. This is similar to a car’s windscreen when covered with drops of water. Make sure your visor is clean and polished before riding.
Through the looking glass. Perception is drastically reduced at night. Parts of a road you’re familiar with during the day will be altered in darkness. Tune into the clues on the road that you can work with namely cats eyes, white lines reflective road signs and the patches of road illuminated by street lamps.
Oncoming traffic is easier to spot, but don’t take this for granted. Cars parked on the side of the road can be rendered invisible under certain light conditions. Not to mention that some gangs drive around without lights as a part of their initiations. Go Figure!
Animals and bikes. Ever heard of large busses being felled by deer jumping into the road? Imagine it was you! Try your best to detect animals by looking for the reflection in their eyes. Everyone knows the expression “like a deer caught in headlights”. Dip your lights, slow down and steer around the animal. They’re unpredictable so go on the side of caution.
Any seasoned rider or veteran biker will tell you to always be on your guard. First of all cars don’t see riders. Most cars don’t see other cars at times so something a fraction of their size their just not conditioned enough. Be on your guard and keep the rubber side down.
Robert Hoffman is the President of Southern Bike Night,LLC, Mortgage Company Rocks, Inc., Real Estate Company Rocks, Inc., and Dinar Inc –
Motorcycle Leather as a Gift, Everyone Will Like
Are you looking for the perfect gift for that fellow biker but you’re just not sure what to get him or her? Well chances are they may be in need of a nice new motorcycle jacket that they can wear on the long trips that they take, or they can wear if they’re just cruising around town. Motorcycle jackets make great gifts for just about anyone that loves wearing leather for a number of reasons.
One of the reasons motorcycle jackets make great gifts is because just about every motorcyclist needs one to keep them protected while on the road and also to keep them warm in cooler temperatures. Motorcycle jackets are made of thick leather which can stand up to road scraping and can help protect the rider in the event of an accident.
They will not help save lives in major accidents, but they will greatly reduce the likelihood of getting road rash and other painful cuts to the areas that are covered by the jackets. They also help protect the rider from dirt and debris that may be flying around in the air while the rider is on the motorcycle. If no jacket is worn, then the rider is more vulnerable to being hit by dirt and debris that may be present.
Another reason that motorcycle jackets make great gifts is because every biker loves leather gear. Leather gear has always been the signature apparel item for bikers around the world and it helps make the biker appearance stand out. Some great leather gifts include jackets, gloves, pants, chaps, boots, saddlebags, vests, hats, and more. For those that are looking to dress out there bikes, the leather items will definitely be a necessity and you can help them greatly by providing some of these items as gifts.
Finally, the leather motorcycle jacket is not just a great item for those that ride motorcycles, they are a great gift for anyone that enjoys wearing leather jackets. They can go for the biker look if they want to or they can go with a more sophisticated look as some provide that. With so many different styles of jackets to choose from, you’ll have no problem finding the one that makes the perfect gift.
Finally, a motorcycle jacket is a way to protect you in an unfortunate circumstance like an accident. Road rash can be very painful and scaring for life. So not only will you look good but will protect yourself during that unforeseen circumstance.
Robert Hoffman is the President of Southern Bike Night,LLC, Mortgage Company Rocks, Inc., Real Estate Company Rocks, Inc., and Dinar Inc –
Ride an american chopper to a motorcycle rally, motorcycle rallies. Where a motorcycle jacket, motorcycle jackets.
Troubleshooting Your Bike The Ins And Outs
When troubleshooting a motorcycle, first start with the basics. These simple tests can work for any small engine. All engines need three basic things to run fuel, spark and air. These simple things can cause your motorbike to not start up or run poorly. First, check the fuel tank, remove the hose off the tank and make sure the fuel is flowing properly. Some bikes will have to turn the fuel selector to prime, not on, or fuel will not flow. Take a flashlight and look down into the tank, is the fuel varnished or is there dirt in the tank? Older motorbikes had a problem with tanks rusting inside and would plug the screen up inside the tank. Fuel delivery may still be a problem but we will come back to that later.
Next remove the spark plugs; you may need to remove the tank to reach them. Inspect every spark plug as you take them out. All the spark plugs should look the same. If a plug looks white colored, that cylinder may be (lean) and not getting enough fuel. If you have a plug that looks wet and black, that cylinder may getting too much fuel (rich) or not sparking good. Remove all the spark plugs and snap the plugs back into their wires. Set the spark plugs on the engine so that they can ground themselves. Crank the bike over and watch the plugs for sparks, preferably somewhere dark. Make sure you look at all the plugs to make sure they are all sparking. If one spark looks weak check the wire and plug, if old or worn replace them. If there is no spark the coil may be bad.
If you have any test equipment such as an ohm meter, you can find out what the resistance reading should be for your bikes coils. This way you will know for sure if the coils are o.k. If the ignition system looks fine move on to the carburetors. First, if the bike has not been maintained recently (a problem in itself) make sure the carbs are synchronized. To do this you need a vacuum gauge made for this. Remove the small rubber plug located between the carbs and the cylinder. Attach the gauge and take the readings from each cylinder. Replace the caps when not measuring or it won’t run right. Adjust the throttle screw or linkage for that carb until they all read close to one another.
Refer back to inspecting the spark plugs. If one cylinder looked lean or rich check all hoses for cracks and air leaks. If the motorcycle has not been run in awhile the carbs may be (gummed up). Remove the float bowl off the bottom of the carb. Look in the bowl for dark varnish looking gas. If the fuel looks dark you will probably have to remove the pilot and main jets and carefully run a wire through the center hole to clean them out. Be careful to not bend the float as the height needs to be correct to run well also. Check that the small needle attached to the float between the pivot point, is moving up and down. If it doesn’t move smoothly the carb will not fill up with gas or will run low as your driving down the road.
Make sure you check the battery, if they become weak the ignition system won’t have enough power to keep the bike running smoothly. If you still haven’t found anything make sure you valve lash has been checked at the correct mileage intervals. If not this can cause many problems with the way it runs. Also you can screw a compression gauge into the spark plug holes and check that they are within 5-10% of each other. If one is way down you have a serious problem either with the pistons, bore or valves. This should be a good start to finding a general problem with your motorbike.
Robert Hoffman is the President of Southern Bike Night,LLC, Mortgage Company Rocks, Inc., Real Estate Company Rocks, Inc., and Dinar Inc –