Motorcycle Views Newsletter for 06/03/2018 By Walter F. Kern Motorcycle Views Newsletter Vol. 12, No. 6, June 3, 2018 Articles of Interest on Motorcycle Views: 1. Recent Additions to the Motorcycle Views Website:
2. Ten Motorcycle Myths: Myth 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 of this myth. To learn more about what a true biker is, read Will the Real Bikers Please Stand Up. 10 Motorcycle Myths: <= Myth 10 1 of 10 Myth 2 =>3. Seven Things Only a Biker Knows: Introduction The following is certainly nothing new for an experienced motorcyclist. However, people brand new to motorcycling and those who are on the outside of motorcycling, will find that bikes are quite different from cars. The following assumes modern motorcycles and cars driven on the right side of the road. This does not apply completely to motor scooters. Over the last 100+ years of motorcycle history, there have been many configurations of motorcycle controls. Fortunately, standardization did occur and now you can go from one bike to another and be able to ride it safely. Here are seven (7) things only a biker knows. There are quite a few more so if you're interested in learning about motorcycles, check out more articles on the Motorcycle Views website.
1. You Shift Gears With Your Left Foot Most cars have automatic transmissions these days. Manual transmission cars do exist. You use your right hand to shift a car. Bikes are different. You shift gears by kicking a ratchet down smartly for each lower gear. The normal configuration is 1-N-2-3-4-5-6, assuming a 6-speed transmission. N stands for Neutral. If your bike is in first gear, you go to second gear, by kicking upward smartly with the toe of your boot on the bottom of the shifter. A similar action is done to go through the remaining gears one at a time. I won't go into all the operations required to support the shift such as use of the clutch.
2. The Clutch Lever is on the Left Handlebar Grip For those used to driving a car with a manual transmission, the clutch is on the floor just to the left of the brake pedal. On a motorcycle, the clutch lever -- no pedal -- is squeezed by the fingers of the left hand. Squeeze the lever until it is close to the left handlebar grip to activate the clutch. Release your grip gradually and apply a bit of throttle just after you have shifted gears and the bike will be moving in another gear. The motorcycle clutch lever is either connected to a cable that goes to the physical clutch release mechanism or it is hydraulically operated. Use of a hydraulic clutch eliminates broken clutch cables and makes using the clutch easier.
3. The Front Brake Lever is on the Right Handlebar Grip In a car, there is a single brake pedal that controls the brakes on all four wheels. On a motorcycle, there are various braking systems in use that separately control the brakes on the front wheel and the brakes on the rear wheel. To control the brakes, a motorcycle has a front wheel brake lever located on the right handlebar grip and a rear wheel brake pedal. Modern bikes have disc brakes on the front wheel and either disc or drum brakes on the rear wheel. The front brake is the most important brake on the motorcycle. It has about 70-80 percent of the total stopping force. On a motorcycle, riders use the two brakes together but favor the front brake in most situations. Beginning riders without training often use the rear brake and avoid the front brake. The result is a significantly increased distance to get the bike stopped. Some bikes have Linked Braking Systems (LBS) where squeezing the front brake lever activates a portion of the front braking action and also activates a portion of the braking action on the rear disc brake. (Some examples are the Honda Gold Wing 1800 and Honda ST1300.) The Honda Gold Wing 1500 has a Unified Braking System (UBS) where the front brake lever controls the right front disc brake only while depressing the rear brake pedal applies the left front disc brake as well as the rear disc brake.) Also, optional ABS brakes are used on bikes, as in cars, to stop the bike without locking the wheels on slick surfaces.
4. The Rear Brake is Controlled by the Right Foot In a car, there is a single brake pedal that controls the brakes on all four wheels. On a motorcycle, there are various braking systems in use that separately control the brakes on the front wheel and the brakes on the rear wheel. To do this, a motorcycle has a front wheel brake lever and a rear wheel brake pedal. The rear wheel brake on a motorcycle can be either disc or drum with most modern bikes using disc brakes. The rear wheel brake has its own master cylinder and associated foot pedal on the right side of the bike. Of all the controls used to operate a motorcycle, the rear wheel brake, controlled by a brake pedal on the right side of the bike, is most like the brake pedal on a car. For that reason, many beginning riders tend to favor the brake pedal thinking that it is all that is required to stop the motorcycle. Such is not the case since the front brake is the most important on the motorcycle. It has about 70-80 percent of the total stopping force. On a motorcycle, riders use the two brakes together but favor the front brake in most situations. Beginning riders without training often use the rear brake and avoid the front brake. The result is a significantly increased distance to get the bike stopped. Bikes also may have systems where depressing the rear foot brake also activates a portion of the braking action on the front wheel. Also, optional ABS brakes are used on bikes, as in cars, to stop the bike without locking the wheels on slick surfaces. => Page 2: 3 more things only a biker knows 4. One-Stop Motorcycle Page: You should be able to find almost anything about motorcycles by looking on the Motorcycle Views website. However, there are some motorcycle items that keep being requested over and over. Those items will be found on this One-Stop Motorcycle page. Motorcycle Beginners:
Motorcycle Books:
Motorcycle Makes and Models: Websites of Motorcycle Manufacturers
Individual Motorcycle Models
Motorcycle Reviews:
Motorcycle Prices:
Motorcycle Training:
Motorcycle Rights:
Motorcycle Rallies:
Motorcycle How-Tos:
Motorcycle Maintenance/Repair:
Motorcycle Pictures:
5. My Memoir, Normal Secrets:
My memoir, Normal Secrets, is a departure from my previous four motorcycle-themed books. It covers much of my life and reveals some secrets that almost no one knows about me. In fact, many secrets I didn't even know myself until recently. You'll also find out how fate changed my course in life many times as I struggled to find out who I was, what I wanted to do, who I would love, how I came to become both a motorcyclist and a moto-journalist, and how I came to become an author in my late seventies. It's a true story that begins in the Midwest and spans more than a hundred years. The book is available on Amazon in paperback, Kindle, Audible, and CD editions. Click the book cover to learn how to buy it on Amazon.com. 6. 50 MORE Wild Motorcycle Tales:
Click the cover to see the book on Amazon. Many readers have indicated that they wanted MORE motorcycle stories similar to those contained in my previous book, 50 Wild Motorcycle Tales. This new book gives 50 MORE Wild Motorcycle Tales for your reading enjoyment. Most of the stories were submitted to Motorcycle Views by visitors to the site. I wrote 19 of the stories. My late wife, Jane, wrote four stories that are published in the book posthumously. The other authors are motorcyclists from all walks of life. They tell their own personal stories of what happened to them as the rode their motorcycles. You'll find humor, risk-taking, adventure, 2-up excursions, world travelers, stupid tricks on bikes, lessons learned, and hazards while riding. I don't intend to write any additional books of motorcycle stories so these two books become a 2-volume series. You may want to consider buying both 50 Wild Motorcycle Tales and 50 MORE Wild Motorcycle Tales to have the 2-volume set together with a total of 100 Wild Tales. Remember, each of these two books has an Audible audiobook edition. Many people enjoy listening to a book these days on a car or motorcycle trip. Why not take 100 tales along with you in this 2-volume set. 7. Audiobook Corner: I have been pleasantly surprised at the reception of my audiobooks. I did not realize that there was such a big market out there for audiobooks. Many listeners use the Whispersync for Voice feature on Amazon to link together the audiobook and the Kindle book so they can switch back and forth between the two. In fact, if you already have the Kindle edition, you can get the Audible edition at a reduced price. Currently, I have four audiobooks: 50 Wild Motorcycle Tales, 50 MORE Wild Motorcycle Tales, Normal Secrets, a memoir, and Motorcycle Kick-Starts. Click the following covers to see these audiobooks on Amazon. They make great inexpensive gifts. (They are also available on Audible and iTunes and other outlets.) Normal Secrets and 50 MORE Wild Motorcycle Tales are also available in a CD version.
8. Five Motorcycle Terms: I am featuring five (5) of my Motorcycle Terms in each issue of the newsletter.
9. My 4 Previous Motorcycle Books:
This book now has a companion book, 50 MORE Wild Motorcycle Tales, that provides 50 MORE motorcycle stories. Consider buying both books as a 2-volume set. No more stories will be written.
I hope you will take a look at my six books, available in paperback and Kindle editions on Amazon.com. My new book, Normal Secrets, is a memoir about secrets in my life. The other five books are motorcycle related. These books make great, inexpensive gifts. I have reduced the price of my six 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 Normal Secrets, Getting Started Riding a Motorcycle, and Motorcycle Haiku Poetry Kindle books have full-color pictures (excepting original black-and-white pictures). These color pictures obviously don't show up in color on standard Kindle readers. They do show up on regular computers, the Amazon Fire tablets, and other color tablets. Please visit my author website to learn about all my books. 10. Here are some popular articles on the Motorcycle Views Site. Take a look:
11. 2017-2018 Polar Bear Grand Tour Motorcycle Runs:
All the pictures and videos for the get-together can be found by clicking the following link: The Polar Bears consist of 550 riders from New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, and Delaware, who ride each Sunday to a different prescribed destination where they sign-in and receive points. There is, usually, a restaurant at or near the destination. It gets cold, windy, and snowy on these rides. I've been a Polar Bear member for 26 years, and I built and continue to maintain their website. The picture to the right was taken at the Pic-A-Lilli Inn. At the end of each Polar Bear Grand Tour season, I select the best pictures and videos. Here are my picks for the 2017-2018 season. 12. Newsletter Archive: I now have a Motorcycle Views Newsletter Archive to store all my newsletters. The archive gives the year, month, day, and subject for each newsletter. Each newsletter contains many links to the Motorcycle Views website. A link to the archive will also be included on the Home page of the site and on the page where users can join the newsletter list. Visit the Motorcycle Views Newsletter Archive 13. 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. 14. Social Media: See me on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Pinterest, and YouTube.
For New Subscribers: Expect newsletters on the first Sunday of January, April, July, and October, i.e., quarterly beginning in July, 2018. 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 any of our past newsletters, just go to the newsletter archives page. 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 and the Motorcycle Views Website. 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. Walter's Books and Audiobooks: Click the following covers to learn more about my books and audiobooks.
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© 2018 Walter F. Kern. All rights reserved.
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