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Motorcycle Views Newsletter for 09/13/2015

By Walter F. Kern

Motorcycle Views Newsletter

Vol. 9, No. 20, September 13, 2015

Articles of Interest on Motorcycle Views:

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Recent Additions to the Motorcycle Views Website:

10 Motorcycle Myths:

By Walter F. Kern

1. Any group of riders is part of the Hell's Angels.

People on the street seeing bikes go by and not familiar with the world of motorcycling, can sometimes be heard to say, "There goes a bunch of Hell's Angels." I've heard this many times.

We offer no disrespect to the members of the Hell's Angels by reporting this. Perhaps, in some small way, we don't mind being compared with the Hell's Angels. We may have a rebellious spirit. We may like the freedom of riding and the camaraderie of other riders. But most of us either ride alone or with small clubs of like-minded individuals. We have no innate desire to separate ourselves into a lifestyle that may ultimately bring us face-to-face with a disrespect for our own society.

The group shown here is a group of Polar Bear Grand Tour riders just about to arrive at the destination point and sign-in for one of their weekly winter runs, Lewes, DE. I happen to be a member of this organization of 500+ riders.

The terms "rider," "biker," and "motorcyclist" are thrown around a lot these days. The media almost always uses the term "biker." I prefer "motorcyclist." If in doubt, use "rider" as I did in the title to this section.

2. It's better to lay a motorcycle down if you see an impending crash.

More than 30 years ago, before I even had an interest in motorcycling, I remember hearing talk among co-workers about what they would do if they were riding their bikes and saw an impending crash coming. They all agreed that the best thing to do was to deliberately lay their motorcycles down on the ground and avoid the crash. Some had even practiced doing this.

I didn't know anything about bikes except that I had always wanted to ride since I was a kid but never did. I thought that this seemed like a strange way to avoid a crash by becoming a crash yourself.

Perhaps this was in the days when tires weren't so sticky and brakes were drum only. I do know that the helmets weren't all that great and that many states didn't have helmet laws. So, it seems even more dangerous now as I think about it than it seemed then when I knew nothing about riding.

Today, the bikes stop faster, some even have ABS brakes to stop in a straight line on any surface.

The helmets are better, the apparel is better. The training is better and people aren't afraid to use their front brakes to stop faster.

So, be prepared with MSF training. Practice good braking techniques. Learn to avoid or swerve around problems and anticipate situations that may force you to react to save your life. Stay on your bike in an upright position. Don't lay your bike down and hope that it will slow you down. It may just flip you into traffic and make things much worse.

Be safe. Read 10 Ways to Be Safe on a Motorcycle.

3. Bikers wear black leather because they want to look cool.

When you observe motorcyclists in groups, you'll soon become aware that black is the most prominent color: Black leather jackets, black gloves, black boots, black pants, black chaps, even a lot of black motorcycles.

Sure, black leather looks cool. There have even been a few fashion trends recently that featured black everything -- that motorcycle look. However, no rider wears black leather to look cool. Well, maybe a few do but we call them wannabes or poseurs.

Leather is the best protective covering for a rider. It usually comes in black. When you're riding at 65 mph just inches above the ground, you want something on that will keep the pavement away from your skin should you happen to become separated from the machine and hit the ground.

These days, other materials than leather are also being used such as synthetic jackets and pants. These have built-in armor in elbows, shoulders, and back. They are lighter and cool better in hot weather. There are more color choices now but black is still the most prominent color.

Black is not a cool color to be wearing after dark. You can't see it! The newer synthetic jackets are now coming with multiple reflective patches that make you highly visible at night.

This picture is of my wife and me at one of our first rallies. I'm not wearing much leather these days but I am still wearing lots of black.

4. You will eventually get hurt or killed on a motorcycle.

If you don't come from a motorcycle family and decide that you want to learn to ride a motorcycle, usually you get lots of advice from your family. They will tell you, "Motorcycles are dangerous." They'll call them murder-cycles or donor-cycles. They'll remind you that, "Uncle Ed got killed on a motorcycle. You stay away from motorcycles. You'll get killed too."

Now a certain amount of caution is OK so long as it's constructive. They fail to mention that there are many old riders on the road who have been riding 35-60 years and are still alive.

They don't know about all the advances in safety in the last 20 years. Bikes now have disc brakes. Some even have ABS brakes. Most riders are getting trained to ride safely through the programs of the Motorcycle Safety Foundation (MSF).

There are support groups for riders such as the five motorcycle forums here on this site.

If you come from a motorcycle family, you're still not home free. They will encourage you to ride but they may give you bad advice or worse yet, try to teach you to ride. Don't ever let a loved one teach you to ride. Worst of all is learning totally on your own.

Take my advice. Level the odds by learning all you can about the proper way to ride a motorcycle. Let the MSF teach you. Then get an experienced trusted friend who is also MSF trained to go out with you as you practice. Wear protective apparel and a helmet. You CAN learn to be a safe rider and manage the risks of riding.

Now read 6 more motorcycle myths by clicking here.

58 Years of Indian Motorcycles:

My Indian Gallery needs your help. If you have an Indian motorcycle or had one in the past and still have pictures, please submit your Indian picture to help complete the gallery. You'll find a submission link inside the gallery.

View the 58 Years of Indian Motorcycles Gallery

Today's Motorcycle Views Poll:

I'm running one new Motorcycle Views Poll in each issue of the newsletter. Please participate in each poll so we can all find out what's happening in motorcycling.

Here's Poll No. 22: What famous rider would you most like to meet and ride with at a rally?

The latest Motorcycle Views Poll also appears on the front page of the Motorcycle Views website.

ALL Motorcycle Views Polls

Today's How-To:

I will be featuring one of my How-Tos in each issue of the newsletter.

How To Jump Start Your Motorcycle

ALL Motorcycle How-Tos

Motorcycle Picture of the Month:

Motorcycle Picture of the Month - September, 2015 - 2011 Harley-Davidson Street Glide:
See the September, 2015 Picture of the Month and previous pictures. If you'd like to be considered for Picture of the Month, send me a picture and description of your bike. Submit Picture.

My Book, 50 Wild Motorcycle Tales, is also available as an Audiobook (Audible) Edition on Amazon, iTunes, and Audible:

My new audiobook makes a great gift for those who want to listen instead of read.

I mentioned in previous Motorcycle Views newsletters that I would soon have an audiobook edition of my book, 50 Wild Motorcycle Tales. On April 14, 2015, that became a reality. The audiobook is available on Amazon, iTunes, and Audible.

If you click the book cover (or click here), you can listen to a 5-minute sample of the audiobook and hear all three narrators, including one female voice and me.

Should you decide to buy and download the audiobook, I'd welcome any Amazon online reviews you might want to write after you have listened to the audiobook.

Remember, this new audiobook edition is also available for download on iTunes. That means you can access it on all your Apple devices including your iPhone and iPad.

Here are some very popular articles on the Motorcycle Views Site. Take a look:

Latest Motorcycle Pictures:

See the latest received pictures by category.



"This is my 2001 Indian Drifter ... more. -- Rick Burroughs"

My Motorcycle Books:

I hope you will take a look at my three motorcycle books, available in paperback and Kindle editions on Amazon.com. These books make great, inexpensive gifts. In fact, you can purchase all three for less than $25 total. As I mentioned above, you will also be able to download each of the three color Kindle books FREE, IF you buy the corresponding paperback first.

My first book, Getting Started Riding a Motorcycle, was first published in 2011 but only as a Kindle edition. It was revised in 2014 and also made available in a paperback edition. Click the book cover to learn more about the book and how to buy it on Amazon.com.

My second book, 50 Wild Motorcycle Tales, contains a collection of stories that originally were only available on my website. Fifty of these stories were selected, intensively edited, and compiled into the book. I wrote five of the stories. The book is available in both paperback, Kindle, and audiobook (Audible) editions. Click the book cover to learn more about the book and how to buy it on Amazon.com. The Audible edition is also available for immediate download on iTunes and Audible.

My third book, Motorcycle Haiku Poetry, also available on Amazon.com in both paperback and Kindle editions, contains haiku poems about motorcycles.

A surprising number of visitors to my site quickly caught on and enjoyed haiku poetry that had been submitted to me over the years from motorcyclists. Haiku is a simple poem of three lines with five syllables in the first and last lines and seven in the second line. Here's a sample haiku poem that's the latest user submission and may go in the next haiku book:

Biker Lightning

Dark Texas highway
Lightning cracks, my thunder rolls
Ozone and exhaust

—Bear Graves

They are easy to write, and most riders like to read them. I coupled each haiku poem with a motorcycle picture and description that tied into the poem itself. I wrote seven of the haiku poems. Click the book cover to learn more about the book and how to buy it on Amazon.com.

I have reduced the price of my three Kindle editions to $0.0 (FREE) IF you also first purchase the corresponding paperback edition. That way you can always have the book with you if you have a tablet or smartphone with you. None of the paperbacks has color pictures in them owing to the high price of producing a book with color. However, every Kindle edition has color pictures, so the Getting Started Riding a Motorcycle and Motorcycle Haiku Poetry Kindle books are in full color.

Help Grow Motorcycle Views:

The Motorcycle Views Website is here for you. We encourage you to submit a story, picture, poem, salvage yard recommendation, user review of your own bike, tattoo, YouTube video you made of your bike, motorcycle tip, etc. These will be evaluated for inclusion into one of our major features. Send us a submission today and share part of your motorcycling experience with our many readers. Read how to make a submission.

Send In Your Pictures:

We love pictures of your motorcycles. Even better is a picture of you with your bike. We also like descriptions of bikes so tell us all about your bike. What accessories do you have? What special paint job do you have? How long have you been riding? Tell us more. Women riders are especially requested to send their pictures in. Submit a Picture.

The Motorcycle Views Website is Also on your Smartphone or Tablet:

Are you relying more and more on your cellphone or tablet and less and less on your PC or MAC? Remember that all that great motorcycling information on Motorcycle Views is as near as your cellphone. It's also in a new format designed to fit your portable screen. Check us out anywhere you need motorcycle information.

Be sure to check out the Home Page on Motorcycle Views. It keeps changing daily, now containing links to hundreds of my original articles and features including Makes and Models, Picture Galleries, Motorcycle FAQ, Motorcycle Tips, Motorcycle How-Tos, Rallies, Videos and Movies, and User Reviews.

Social Media:

See me on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Pinterest, and YouTube.

Walter F. Kern's Author Page on AmazonThanks again for coming along for the ride in this new edition of the Motorcycle Views Newsletter. -- Walter.

For New Subscribers:

Expect newsletters on Sunday afternoon every other week.

Please understand that the Motorcycle Views Newsletter is NOT the Motorcycle Views website. The newsletter provides a few links to content on the Motorcycle Views website. Once you click a link in the newsletter, you'll be getting access to content on the Motorcycle Views site.

If you'd like to view some recent newsletters, just go to the newsletter sign-up page and look below where my three motorcycle books are described for links.

Thanks for signing up for the Motorcycle Views Newsletter. Using this Newsletter, I'll keep you up-to-date with what's going on in the Motorcycle Views Blog, the Motorcycle Views Website, and the Motorcycle Views Forum. The forum has a new look as of February 13, 2015. Take a look. Not sure what a blog is? It's like a daily readout of what I'm thinking about, similar to a diary at times. Most often, I'm using mine right now to tell my visitors what has been added to the Motorcycle Views site.

See me on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Pinterest, and YouTube.

The Motorcycle Views Website is Also on your Smartphone or Tablet:

Are you relying more and more on your cellphone or tablet and less and less on your PC or MAC? Remember that all that great motorcycling information on Motorcycle Views is as near as your cellphone. It's also in a new format designed to fit your portable screen. Check us out anywhere you need motorcycle information.

END OF NEWSLETTER

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