Open Road Biker » Motorcycle Safety

Learning To Ride My Own Motorcycle

Missarkie — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 00:38:31 +0000

I have been listening to videos on youtube and several of them were women telling their stories. I want to ride my own bike but I am hesitant to do so. I am nervous about handling a bike. But after listening to this stories my mind is made up. This summer I am going to take the class held here at the local Harley Dealership. I am not going to tell my husband. I am just going to surprise him. Of course I won’t go far on his bike. For one I think it would be too big for me to handle. He has a 2008 Harley Dyna Wide Glide. It is a beautiful bike and I love riding behind him. There is nothing like getting on the bike on a Sunday afternoon and just taking a ride to some of our favorite places. There really are some near rides around the Little Rock area. I will let you know when I start the lessons and how I do. If I do good then there is not a woman out there who cannot do the same.

See The Motorcycle Now?

36 Special — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 00:46:54 +0000

I saw this little video today, not sure if it would help or hurt. It may cause more accidents, check it out and you will see what I mean;

I just want to know where he stuck that card at the end?

Ride or Store

36 Special — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 17:09:22 +0000

Well it is that time of year all around the northern hemisphere to decide whether you are going to continue riding or put the bike into hibernation. Now some of you live in areas where it is pleasant all of the year but for the better part of us the weather just dares you to get on your bike. For those in the northern most areas I understand that ice does make riding just a little interesting. So I guess it is understandable to put the ride up for a few months. For the rest of us where a little cold rain, the occasional snow, and just downright sucky weather cause us to rethink our love for the open road well I am speaking to you right now.

What it all boils down to is are you prepared. If you are going to ride year round do you have the proper experience and gear to ride in the winter (maybe a little intestinal fortitude helps). If you don’t have what it takes then maybe you need to find a good riding partner who does and do a few trial runs to figure out your strengths and weaknesses before any descent runs. It doesn’t take but a few miles in sub freezing weather or a little dampness to figure out if you have the right stuff either so don’t plan any 100 mile trips to figure this out. The best bet is to get with a group and try an bad weather ride. Talk with the experienced riders and try and get a little information from them as to what works and makes life easier while in that environment. The little things make a difference.

Riding in the winter can be a great experience if you plan properly and ensure you have what you need. There should be no real reason to put the bike up for 4 months and let a bunch of good riding pass you by. So get out, enjoy, and be safe. You can check out a few of these posts for more information;

Protective Clothing

Ireland Motorcycle Ride

Cool Weather Riding

36 Special — Mon, 05 Nov 2007 20:24:22 +0000

Well it is almost that time again. A few of you will be moth balling your bike for the winter, some live in warm climates and have great weather all year long, and then there are those of us that are going to ride no matter what. No matter which of those you are ensure that you dress right for those fall and winter rides. Now I ain’t talking about no fashion show on two wheels, you need to dress for the elements. Hypothermia can set in real fast while on a motorcycle if you are not real careful. So what is hypothermia?

Hypothermia;

Well according to Dictionary.com it is

an abnormally low body temperature, often caused by prolonged exposure to cold.

Some of the symptoms include uncontrollable shivering, slowed heart rate resulting in lower blood pressure, confusion, and loss of memory. Hypothermia is deadly and can kill even after you have been warmed back up in some extreme cases because of your bodies weakened state mostly from pneumonia.

You may wonder how it can happen; well with the blowing wind flying across your body at 60 to 70 mph stealing away your body heat it happens rather quickly and before you know it your core body temperature is falling to dangerous levels. So how do you prevent falling prey to such a sneaky bastard? In the army we use the acronym COLD for a few tips and I will start with those;

Clean. Keep your clothing and yourself clean. Sounds kind of funny but dirt in your clothing keeps it from being as effective at insulating your body from the elements as it should be. Take care of your clothing so it can take care of you!

Overdressing. Now this can be hard to judge but you don’t want to wear so much that you begin to sweat while riding. Once you begin to sweat, the moisture can rob you of valuable body heat.

Loose Layers. Dress loose and in layers, that way the looseness creates extra layers of air around your body and helps with insulation and the layers make it easy for you to adjust your clothing to the conditions. We will talk about the layers that you may need later on in the article.

Dry. This is very important. The moisture as stated above will rob body heat faster than anything. It is very important to stay dry even in seemingly warmer temperatures. The effect of the wind blowing across your body and drying the moisture from your body is the same process your body uses to keep cool when you sweat. As liquid evaporates it cools. Now this can be very bad on cooler days and can decrease your body temperature very quickly. Be very aware of this and please stay dry.

Now that is not all there is to preventing hypothermia. You should also eat properly to replace all of the calories that your body burns while trying to stay warm. They say that the average athlete may burn 4000 or fewer calories in the warmer months but winter activities may burn 6000 or more calories with the added load of keeping your body warm. Now don’t get carried away and eat too much. Just remember that your body will need a little more food than normal so try and eat some more pasta or any good carbohydrates (candies and cookies won’t cut it). Now along with eating well you also need to stay hydrated (with water). Now just for those of you that are wondering, alcohol will reduce your ability to stay warm.

I told you before that we would talk about that clothing, well here it goes;

Base Layer

Keep a good layer of clothing next to your skin that is not cotton. Cotton will keep moisture next to your skin and rob heat from you. Try something like polypropylene or wool. Those pull moisture away from your body. Under Armour Tech Long Sleeve Tee is a good product that I use and I am very happy with the results.

You want to wear something over that layer that will compliment it. Now cotton is still not your friend here so try and just find a loose fitting shirt made from some material other than cotton. According to how cold it is I sometimes wear some type of fleece jacket or pullover. Now I have been known to wear a cotton hoodie if I think it is not going to be wet but if you think you may get wet do not wear cotton. I know it can be hard finding some type of pants to fit this bill but it will be worth it on that ride that turned colder than it was supposed to. This is the layer that is going to hold the warmth in so make sure it is adequate.

Outer Layer

This is going to be what keeps the wind and rain off of your body. All of the other layers make no difference without this one. You will need a quality jacket and pants with all of the protection that you prefer to have when buying motorcycle gear plus the added protection from the elements. Make sure to get something to cover your body while in your riding position. You may end up buying gear to go over your normal jacket/pants just make sure it is quality. Rain suits make great wind breakers and can sometimes be just what the doctor ordered when it is cold and windy out. Check out this Tourmaster Rain Jacket.

Gloves

You need to make sure that these things are waterproof, windproof, and insulated enough to keep your hands warm. If you are like me and no glove will keep your hands warm enough you may want to pick up some of those little hand warmers to stick inside of your gloves when you really need them. Also try some thin glove inserts to help out on those colder than normal days. Just remember; don’t buy your gloves to tight. You will cut off circulation to your hands and no gloves will keep your hands warm then. Also ease off on the death grip you have on your bars.

Boots

These need to have the same qualities as your gloves except they need to be sturdy. Sometimes the first thing to get wet and cold will be your feet so try and make sure the boots you buy are truly waterproof or buy some slip-on covers for your boots to keep the wet out. Buy some good socks too. A good pair of socks will make a world of difference and help you stay comfortable and enjoying the ride.

With these tips and a little planning maybe we can all enjoy riding this winter. No matter what, be safe and enjoy the ride this winter. I am going to try and get in over 5000 miles this winter, what is your goal?

Helmet Laws

36 Special — Thu, 13 Sep 2007 00:00:00 +0000

Here is an article I found today. It seems the federal government (National Transportation Safety Board) is urging to states to adopt helmet laws. Where do you stand on helmet laws?
Here is an excerpt from the article;

Panel urges mandatory motorcycle helmets

By KEN THOMAS
Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — States should require motorcycle riders to wear proper helmets, government investigators urged Tuesday as part of several recommendations that seek to stem a steady rise in motorcycle deaths.

Read the rest here.
Head on over into the forums and talk about it or post a quick comment here (just click on comment below this article)

Riding in the Alabama Heat

36 Special — Tue, 14 Aug 2007 00:00:00 +0000

Last Wednesday me and my dad took a little ride up to Sand Mountain to look at some cars. Well we started out heading straight there but decided to take a few detours and turned a two hour ride into four hours. We started out heading north on state hwy79 and ran that all the way into US 278 and headed east. Well when we got to state hwy 75 instead of taking it over into Albertville we decided to go to the foot of the mountain on 278 and then take US 431 back up the mountain. Up on top we found a few places that had their share of old cars and trucks (I was looking for some to take pictures of for my new website Cool School Rodz). I guess we spent well over an hour checking out the stuff that they had. I found a ’40′s Lincoln that I would love to have as a project. We also found a guy with a few Harleys for sale but he never did give us any prices. Heck he also had some restored hot rods that he was trying to part with (I will put the contact info up on Cool School Rodz tomorrow). After checking out some cars and stuff we headed on up 431 towards Guntersville and down the other side of the mountain and went to Arab where we picked up US 231 and headed towards the house. I think we managed to get in around 180 miles or so. No big deal but I will tell you this; the whole ride felt like we had a blow dryer blasting in our face. The few stops that we made were mandatory just to rehydrate. I can only imagine what it would be like to ride across the desert in hotter weather if that is what riding in 100 degree weather is like. Just make sure as you are out riding at this time of the year;
1. Make sure you stay hydrated with water! You will start getting headaches and you will become exhausted easier.

2. Eat! You need to eat properly with all of that water you are taking in to replenish the minerals in your body. You can actually get water poisoning from drinking too much water.

3. Wear sun block or keep that skin covered up. A sunburn can not only be painful but it can also cause your body to overheat by not allowing your skin to sweat properly. You also lose moisture through exposed skin faster than if you had sleeves on. Believe it or not you can actually be cooler with sleeves on than if you wear short sleeves.

4. Rest. Make sure you make periodic stops just to take a little break. Heck enjoy the scenery, stop and smell the roses, and all of that other stuff.

Well there you have it, be safe guys and galls and I will see you out there on the road.

P.S.
Just to give you a little update, I have moved in to my new home in Tennessee and I am just waiting on my furniture and stuff to get here. Some of it will get here this Friday but my bike won’t be here until closer to the end of the month. Right now I am without a ride until then. I could have brought my dads old bike (’95 Sporty) but I figured I would just wait on mine. Well now after only a week or so since my last ride I am already jonesing. I guess I just have to deal with it.

Fog And Riding Doesn’t Mix

36 Special — Tue, 22 May 2007 07:00:00 +0000

I try to ride to work just about every chance I get. That means that sometimes I may have to ride in some rather nasty stuff. Well this morning the fog was extremely thick. I normally leave the house sometime around 6 a.m. and this morning I managed to catch all of the fog because of leaving that early. I continually had to wipe my shield with my sleeve so that I could see and it was slow going almost all of the way in. I was almost late, I think I got there around3 minutes early (the military likes for you to be there 10 minutes early). I am going to start looking for something like rain x that you can use on plastic (you are not supposed to use that stuff on plastic for some reason). By the time I got to work I was also wet. That was some of the wettest fog that I had been stuck in for a while. Just remember a few things when you are out in stuff like that;
1. Slow down! Your life is worth more than the seconds you will save.
2. If you can’t see then stop. People may not be able to see you.
3. The roads are slick! Remember to take that into account when braking and maneuvering.

Just be careful out there, we all love to ride just do it responsibly.

Motorcycle Toy Run and Safety Day

36 Special — Sun, 20 May 2007 07:00:00 +0000

Today our club (SHAPE HDC) and the Daumerie Concerne American Chapel sponsored a safety day and a toy run where we took toys to two orphanages. We started the day at Daumerie Concerne where there was a MSF safety booth, SHAPE booth, and food setup. There was a few real nice bikes there today including a ’98 or ’99 Indian with a few nice murals. I was supposed to get some good pictures of it before the day ended but he had to leave the ride early so I guess I will have to wait to do an article on his bike.
While not looking at the nice bikes we enjoyed a little food and camaraderie and then lined 32 bikes up to roll out to the orphanages. The first one was a small place and it was neat to watch all of the bikers pull up and give toys to the children (while playing with the toys themselves). We left there and rolled to the next one where they invited us in for coffee. When we left it started raining on us as we headed to Tournai for some coffee. By the time we made it there I was soaked and my wife was cold but we still walked around and enjoyed the scenery. It was my wife’s first time there and I was happy to be able to take her there. We left there around four and headed back finishing the trip in Mons at the grande place (town center). Even though we got soaked to the bone it was a good day (any day on a motorcycle seems to be a good day). Until next time keep on riding and remember to take advantage of the time you have because you never know when the rain will come again.

Enjoy these pictures.

The orphanage and a child on baby vins bike; (I have blurred the faces of the children to protect their identity)

The bikes lined up at the concerne;

Felix on the merry go-round in Tournai;

Motorcycle Awareness

36 Special — Tue, 08 May 2007 07:00:00 +0000

The BikerWorlds website posted this on myspace and I just had to repost it here. We all need to pay more attention when we are riding and driving. It only takes a little effort to pay attention (for most of us anyway). So be careful out there.

Motorcycle Helmets

36 Special — Mon, 07 May 2007 07:00:00 +0000

Continuing my talks on safety here is a little article on helmets. Understand that I believe it is your right to wear or not wear a helmet but I don’t believe it is safe to ride without one. There are some crazy drivers out there (including some of us riders) and you can never tell what they are going to do that will cause us harm. Also there are those of us that are young and feel that they are invincible that really should consider helmets full time. While a helmet may not prevent all injuries I am sure it is better then hitting something with your head without one. Me, I wear mine all of the time and I am comfortable doing it (the Army won’t pay my life insurance if I die without one on if riding a motorcycle).
Whatever you do be safe and consider wearing a helmet.
Also remember I did not write the following article and I do not have the freedom to edit it.

Why Should You Wear A Helmet When You Ride Your Motorcycle (Ezine Ready)

Author: Gregg Hall

As I am writing this article I am thinking of the recent accident involving the Pittsburg Steelers star quarterback, “Big Ben” Roethlisberger. If he had been wearing a helmet his injuries would not have been nearly as severe.

For most of us bikers a helmet just doesn’t fit our perception of what biking is all about, which is freedom! I mean, hey it just doesn’t look cool to be on a hog with that little sissy helmet. But, I think it looks way less cool to have your face all scarred up from sliding on it down the road!

According to statistics almost every crash where the rider wasn’t wearing a helmet resulted in a major head injury. In one study out of 900 crashes there were 980 head and neck injuries which seems to indicate that the passengers on many of these motorcycles were not wearing helmets either.

Our neighbors to the north in Canada have now made it illegal to ride a motorcycle without a helmet due to the large percentage of fatalities in accidents in which the rider was not wearing one. Of course in the United States, like many other laws it is left up to the individual states to decide the ruling. I know where I live in Florida they repealed the helmet law a few years ago and according to an EMT buddy of mine it has caused a dramatic increase in head injuries.

If you value your brain and your life you should be responsible enough to wear a helmet. Some of the factors that you should consider when buying a motorcycle helmet are below.

All motorcycle helmets consist of two main parts, an inner shell or liner which is made of impact reducing foam and an outer shell which is made to absorb the initial impact and protect your head as well as take all of the damage that the road or other hard object would have done to your head.

When buying a motorcycle helmet you should be sure that it has been approved by the Department of Transportation. If the helmet has been approved it will have a sticker from the government agency stating so. Another sticker that is recognized all over the world is from the Snell Memorial Foundation.

Another thing that is hugely important is making sure that the motorcycle helmet you buy fits properly. You need to make sure that it doesn’t fit too loose or too tight. When you take it off there should be no marks on your face from the pressure of the helmet, if so the helmet is too tight.

You also want to be sure that it doesn’t wobble around or come off easily. If you are in an accident and the helmet comes off at first impact you may be bouncing down the road on your head!

Source: Submit Articles at ArticlesBase.com

About the Author:
Gregg Hall is a consultant for online and offline businesses and lives in Navarre Florida. Get reviews on motorcycle gear and accessories at http://www.motorcyclegearandaccessories.com