Posts Tagged ‘Motorcycle’

“Baby got back” and I cannot lie that it fits the Ultra Limited and I want to try to get drivers to see my motorcycle’s rear end. OK.. that is Ultra Bad.

In the age of distracted driving I want folks to have a better chance at seeing me when I am stopped, breaking, or slowing.  So I looked around for a device that would cause my rear lights to flash when the breaks are applied.  There are more than a few of these devices for nearly any motorcycle on the market but I went with the Custom Dynamics Magic Brake Light Flasher.WP_20160417_11_44_23_Rich

I will admit that my section of the Custom Dynamic product was influenced by my earlier purchase of their  LED Turn Signals .  That product was easy to install and has worked well.

The installation of the break light flasher was easier than I expected.  Once the seat was off and you can see the Tour Pak wiring it was almost a no brainer.  Once the device was installed we had to choose the flash pattern.  It comes with 10 patterns of varying complexity.  The video shows you all the patterns, and while it might be less than evident on the video the lights are quite bright. We went with the “Blaster X Consistent” pattern.

When I showed our upgrade to my daughter, as she pulled into the driveway, she stated “that’s distracting”.  I took that as a job well done!

Now it is hard to review whether or not this is a good safety product, if I never get rear ended did the flasher help or did I just get lucky.  But I can review it on ease of installation and my subjective thoughts.  This product does what it says it is going to do, it was easy to install, and I think it is going to help draw attention (thank you daughter).  Based on that I am giving the Custom Dynamics HD LED Tour Pak GEN2 Magic Brake Light Flasher for Harley Davidson Motorcycles 5 out of 5 stars.

5 star

 

 

***This is a repost from the last Check Your Helmet Month..with a few new pictures***

So what does that mean to you and me, the average motorcycle rider?

While your helmet might look clean and shiny it does not mean that it not ready for replacement. Worse yet, a single drop to the ground might be enough to cause you to consider replacement, according to the manufactures.

Here are some industry guidelines regarding your helmet:

  • Helmet manufacturers recommend replacing your helmet every 3 to 5 years, depending on use, to ensure optimal protection.
  • Over time, UV rays, internal adhesive and component aging can deteriorate a helmet’s protective qualities by degrading the interior protection layer.
  • Exposure to gasoline, insect repellent, cleaning fluids, exhaust fumes and excessive heat can degrade helmet materials.
  • If a helmet has been dropped or suffered an impact, it should be replaced immediately.
  • A helmet is designed for only one impact, even a small one. An impact may fracture its outer shell as well as compress the inner liner, neither of which may be visible.

Now it is your head so you need to make the decision, but you should at least check out your lid to make sure there are no major issues.

You can also go to HelmetCheck.Org to get some additional information.

 

I wrote a guest post for Pillioness.com on some rules for riding with passengers.

Check it out to see if you are following some of the more common sense ideas.  There might be some things in the article you might not have thought about.12-rules-for-riding-with-a-pillion

Now you can!  Ducati is going across the US and Canada to offer test rides on this cool new motorcycle.   This is the bike that was voted the “Best-looking bike” at the 2015 EICMA show in Italy.

Baltimore is the closest stop on their test ride tour to me, so I plan on making a trip to Charm City and try out one of these babies!  Click here to read more about the 2016 Ducati Xperience Tour and see if there is a stop near you.

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The South Island of New Zealand is like Middle Earth for motorcycling. It’s green, it’s lush, and you wouldn’t be surprised to see a hobbit or two on your travels.

Motorcycle touring here is a little different from what you may be used to.

New Zealand is about the same size as California, and you’re never more than 170 km from the sea. But it still surprises me that what looks like a fast, easy ride will actually take at least twice as long as you expect. And there are 4 very good reasons for that.

  1. The Roads

Riding in New Zealand involves everything from smooth three-lane city highways, to quiet country lanes, and rough gravel tracks.

But it’s not the road surfaces that you’ll notice. It’s the lack of straight lines. The twisties are everywhere you look.

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There are roads that wind alongside deep blue rivers, lazy wide corners through chocolate-brown farmland, and hairpin bends cut right into mountains. Sometimes you meet a corner so long that time seems to stop: it’s just you and your purring machine leaning into an endless sunny curve.

And you might not see a car for 20 minutes at a time.

  1. The Scenery

Riding in New Zealand will leave you at a loss for words. It is so beautiful that it makes you feel stupid. You’ll pull over, take off your helmet and stand there, gaping at snow-capped mountains, fields of purple lavender, mini-waterfalls tumbling down cliff faces, and more shades of green than you’ve ever seen in your life.

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The big challenge is to keep your eyes on the road instead of the scenery.

  1. The Weather

It’s near impossible to plan a riding itinerary here, because of the weather.

The sky can change colour in a matter of minutes.

Temperatures can suddenly soar or drop, as blazing sunshine quickly becomes a thunderous downpour. You’re riding through hot, dry fruit country and just as you’re thinking of pulling over to unzip your jacket lining, the sky opens up and threatens to drown you.

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It helps if you carry wet weather gear, and be prepared to change your plans. If you’re suddenly soaked to the skin, find a motel and start again tomorrow.

  1. The People

In the South Island of New Zealand, bikers are not seen as axe murderers in training. Motorcycles are not a source of suspicion here. In fact, they’re the perfect ice-breaker.

When you’re out on the road, prepare to be bailed up by chatty strangers who want to talk about bikes.

Every time you stop for lunch or a coffee, add an extra half hour to your travelling time. At least. Because, look out: the locals have spotted you’re on a motorcycle.

 

P.S.  Liz Hardy is the editor and proprietor of the PILLIONESS website. Her site is geared to “Helping Women Love Motorcycling!”

 

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5 Tech advances that have made motorcycle safer.

The next motorcycle safety tech…Side View Assist?

Motorcycle Good Deeds Films

A horse riding a horse motorcycle… WTF stupid but fun!

Burn Calories while riding a Motorcycle!

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Debbie and I attended the largest Motorcycle Show and Expo in the mid-Atlantic region a few weeks ago.  Held at the Maryland State Fairground, I think there were more folks at this year’s expo than attended in 2015.   

As has been in past years Harley Davidson of Baltimore took the premier spot on the floor, directly inside the entrance.  As we walked through the Harley display it looked like they were even selling one or at least were in serious negotiations.  Just behind the HD exhibition were the Indian and BMW Motorrad displays.  Turning to the right and moving like salmon swimming upstream is the accessories and product section.  

Ijustwant2ride.comThere were all the normal stuff like jackets, vests, chaps and biker themed jewelry.  One vendor caught my eye was producing, on site, LED signs… we might be ordering one or two of those as gifts.  At the end of the road contestants for the Miss Timonium title were “showing their talents” to the crowd.  Debbie was not too impressed, I tried to not let on I was watching, LOL!

 ijustwant2ride.comSimilar to last year the Expo was including adventure traveling companies & vendors along with guest speakers.  Debbie and I stopped and listened to the “2 Ride the World” discussion. Their 13 year, 400,000 mile, around the world story compressed into a 30 minute confab was very entertaining, and left the audience wanting more.  Highly recommend you check out their story!  I am looking forward to a book or even a movie! 

ijustwant2rideThe organizers also had, similar to the adventure traveling section, an area where vendors were showing off their new stuff on stage. We stopped to find out what Sena was releasing in the New Year.  Turns out they are going to release their own “smart” helmet with active noise cancellation and full integration of their product line.  If you are invested in the Sena products you should check out this new helmet when it arrives, cost will be about $500US.

Ijustwant2ride.comMy highlight of the day occurred at the KTM display.  As we were walking buy Debbie remarked that KTM was the bike that Ryan Dungy of Supercross rode (a 450) and that she wanted to see what that bike looked like in person.  She walked up to the salesman and asked if they had one at the show, they didn’t but a minute later she was climbing on a KTM 350 of similar size.  I almost laughed when the guy looked at me with a “how does she know all this Supercorss stuff” look on his face.

 The bikes on display for show were all very nice and some were just plain spectacular. The custom “muscle bagger” by Sick Sledz took best in show!  I have a couple pictures of it just below.  

We spent about four hours looking at all the stuff on the floor before heading home.  I hope this year’s event was a success for the vendors and show participants.  Debbie and I had a good time and plan on going back in 2017.

 

p1 (4)I see a lot of motorcycle posters (or prints) on line and while I am out and about.  From a group of 24 I came up with these 9 as my fav’s for 2015.  Why 9? Because everyone does top 10 lists and 11 is just to much work!

 

 

Win 10

A few weeks ago we had 36+ inches of snow, mostly gone now.  Next week they are calling for a couple of inches more. So what better time to post winter motorcycling pictures!!

 

Much like what I did with “9 Weird Motorcycles for 2015” I watched Facebook and Twitter for wild motorcycle helmet pictures.

I started with 12 entries (I copied the pictures to a special folder all year long) and here are the top nine wild motorcycles helmet pictures that made me go “that’s cool”.

OH, and while the “Turbo Visor” is not a helmet… I included it because I liked it! HA