Keep Your Battery Charged
Most people know that if you store your bike during the winter or for any long amounts of time, you should use a battery tender. But did you ever think about using one during the summer?
That’s right the summer. Depending on where you live it may get cold at night. If you don’t keep your battery charged, you might want to go for a ride one day and get nothing when you try and start the bike.
When we were in the mountains of Colorado the temps can get pretty low at night. We have even seen some snow up here and it’s the end of June at the time of me writing this!!! Honestly, it never hurts to keep things at their optimum peak performance so we recommend if you will not be riding for a week or so, throw that battery tender on to help keep your battery in top shape.
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Feet On The Ground
We are believers in all gear/all the time. Part of that gear is footwear. A good pair of riding boots should provide good foot and ankle support. They should also, and this is super important, have non-slip soles.Click here to visit Motorcycle Gear Superstore
When you put your foot down at a stop you want to know it’s not going to slide out from under you or your ankle is going to turn from non-support. Do yourself a favor and get some good quality boots. Please don’t wear sneakers!!!
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Oh Crap!!! My Stuff Is Soaked!!!
Don’t You Wish You Had A Crystal Ball For The Weather?
If you are heading out for the day, weekend, or even the week you will need to pack a few things. Since none of us have a crystal ball as far as the weather is concerned, how are we going to keep our stuff dry in case we get caught in the rain?
Hefty/Hefty/Hefty
The solution is simple. Line your saddlebags, trunks, backpacks, or gym bags with everyday plastic garbage bags. That’s right, those cheap garbage bags will ensure you get to your destination and your stuff will be dry. It does not get any easier than that!!! Have a great week!!!
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When Did I Do That?
Servicing your bike is extremely important. Something as simple as regular oil changes can prolong the life of your bike’s engine tremendously. It’s awesome if you are keeping up on your service. It shows you are truly a responsible motorcyclist as it’s not only bike longevity your after but safety.
How Many Miles Are On These Tires?
Just how are you keeping track of your maintenance? How do you know when your last oil change was done? How about your last brake job, tire change, or final drive fluid change? Keeping good maintenance records are important on many levels. Proving your bike’s worth on a trade or sale and safety just to name a couple.
What’s A Spreadsheet?
Some people use spreadsheets (like me) and that works great. Some people are not that computer savvy or just don’t like computers. Now what? How about picking up a Motorcycle Maintenance Logbook? They are inexpensive and easy to use. No more guessing. We hope this helps. Have a great week!!!
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Where Did My Gear Go?
Many bikes are limited on storage. Some don’t have helmet locks. Our bike does have helmet locks and lots of storage but many times when we go out riding, it’s for the day. That means we are usually bringing a cooler with food and snacks, extra clothing, and camera equipment.
What usually happens is when we get to a location to either use the restroom, do a short hike, or shoot photos/video we have to either carry our jackets (which is a pain) or leave them on the seat of the bike and hope no one steals them.
Not any more. We have found a solution. A simple bicycle lock cable.. A bicycle lock cable will be able to lock the jackets to the bike eliminating our need to carry them around. Just run the cables through the arms of the jacket. If you own a full-faced helmet you can secure that too. It’s much better than just the ring-type locks.
Unfortunately, we have 3/4 helmets so we will just continue the use of our ring locks on the bike for our helmets. A bicycle lock cable can secure other items that don’t fit into your trunk or unlockable saddlebags.
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Hey, Where Did My Bike Go?
Coming out of an event or any location for that matter and walking to where your bike was parked to find it has been stolen is not a good feeling at all. Unfortunately, bike theft is real. It only takes a few minutes for a thief to roll it up on the back of a truck and drive away.
1st Step
There are two things you can do that you probably already have equipped on your bike. First anytime you park your bike, use your steering lock. If a thief is trying to roll your bike up a ramp onto a truck it will make it very difficult to roll when the steering is locked completely to one side.
2nd Step
The second thing you can do is if your bike came with an alarm, use it!!! It might be a pain to activate or deactivate but taking that extra measure of security might just send a thief to someone else’s bike who has not taken these steps making it easier for them to steal. Remember thieves want to be quick. They do not want to spend time deactivating and disconnecting things.
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Worry-Free Parking
This item is not typically thought of as motorcycle gear but we feel it’s worth a mention. Did you ever park your bike and run into the store for just a minute and come back to find your kickstand dug completely into the street tar or worse find your bike laying on its side because the stand sunk in too far? What about pulling over for a photo op and there is only grass to put your stand on? For those of you that know us you know we love to make numerous stops while we ride for any kind of photo op.
We Have Used Many Items
That means putting the kickstand down on all sorts of surfaces. From hot street tar to dirt we need a solid surface that the stand will not sink into. We have used all sorts of things like pieces of wood, crushed soda cans, and thin metal sheets but the item that we feel works best is a kickstand pad.
Sold In Many Places
They are lightweight making them easy to bring along on any ride. They make it much easier for you to park almost worry-free on any surface. Kickstand pads are sold at most motorcycle accessory shops and online. Pick one up today and get your photo ops worry-free.
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When Choosing Pants Consider Kevlar
Just about everyone I know (myself included) wears jeans while they ride. Although it’s much better than wearing…ummm…shorts, jeans are not as much protection as you think. If you were ever to go down for whatever reason jeans will tear like paper and you will wind up with severe road rash.
Although pricey, riding pants with kevlar will be your best defense against road rash/injury to your lower body. Depending on how stylish you want to be will determine your costs but whatever you decide make sure they are made from a breathable material or you will be drenched in sweat upon your arrival to a destination.
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I Can’t Feel My Fingers
One of the most important pieces of gear you can get (well, they are all important) is your gloves. There’s nothing worse than riding in cooler weather and your fingers start to get numb from the cold. On the flip side, you also want to protect them in the warm weather and be waterproof.
When you are buying gloves for warm weather, you want something that fits well, is lightweight, waterproof, and lets you feel through to the handlebars. In colder weather, you will want something with Gortex to keep your hands dry, ones that have an inner lining for warmth, but also let you feel through to the handlebars. You also want something that comes up over your wrists and goes over your jacket sleeve.
We hope this helps.
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Oh My Aching Head
A properly fitting helmet is extremely important. The last thing you want is to be going down the road and have your helmet slip down over your eyes or slip backward and have the strap start choking you out.
When you put on your helmet it should be snug fitting. Not so tight that when you take it off you can read the manufacturer on your forehead though. It should be snug enough that if you move your head around quickly it’s not sliding around on your head.
Could Be Uncomfortable and Dangerous
Keep in mind that you are buying one brand new you might want to purchase it slightly tighter because after you wear it a few times the padding will sink in a little as it conforms to the shape of your head. An improperly fitted helmet can be not only uncomfortable but dangerous as well.
We hope this helps. Have a great week.
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Can You See Me Now?
Although leather gear has been worn for years, it’s dark and can make it hard for other motorists to see you because it makes you blend in. There are more and more cagers hitting the road every day and our roads are becoming crowded.
Give yourself an edge. Wear something hi-viz. If you still like leather, wear a hi-viz vest over it while you are riding. It’s a cheap way to be safe. We like to wear hi-viz mesh jackets. They’re bright, comfortable, and come with waterproof liners.
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Hey, I Can’t See A Thing!!!
Always make sure your eyes are covered. Whether you ride with a helmet or without, at the very least make sure your eyes are covered. If you have a full or three quarter faced helmet, your eyes are fairly well protected and you could get away with a good pair of sunglasses to block the sun.
If you wear a half helmet or …gulp…no helmet at all, you will need a good pair of riding glasses or goggles. Make sure they are shatter resistant. The types of debris that can come flying at your eyes while riding is almost unlimited. You only get one set of eyes. Make sure you protect them.
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