Boston Motorcycle Injury Lawyer Blog

Most people love the Holidays. Some like it because it is the season of giving but some like it because of the time off from work. For those lucky enough to get time off during the Holidays, they either fill that time doing nothing at all or doing the activities they have been missing for the past few months.

For bikers, this means taking some time to hit the road!

Regardless of the experience level, jumping back on a motorcycle after a long layoff can be an intimidating time for some riders. Before the adrenaline kicks in and you do something stupid, here are a few things to think about before taking a ride after a long layoff.

• Motorcycle Maintenance: Motorcycles are made for riding, not for sitting around for months at a time. If a bike has been sitting for a few months, it is likely that the oil, gas, coolant, brake fluid, and other fluids need to be checked and changed. Make sure to give the bike a thorough inspection and have a mechanic review the bike if necessary.

• Tires: Tires are one of the most important systems on a motorcycle yet they are frequently overlooked in a safety inspection. Review the treads and air pressure. Make sure to inflate the motorcycle tires to their correct levels and that the tires are free from dry rot and cracks.

• Apparel: Depending on the climate, make sure you have on the appropriate motorcycle apparel for safety, fit, and comfort. Riding in the wrong gear can cause rider discomfort and fatigue.

• Weather Conditions: Make sure you and your bike are properly outfitted for the climate you will face. Whether it is heat, snow, or rain, your bike needs to be ready to handle whether comes its way.

• Length of Ride: Don’t bite off more than your can chew for your first ride. Take shorter or medium length rides to start.

• Speed: Only ride at a speed you are comfortable with. If you fall behind, you can catch up later.

• Other Riders: Motorcycle group riding is always dangerous. Limit you ride to the smallest group of riders possible.

Don’t hesitate to go back to basics. If you need to have a few short practice rides before you are ready for the road, then do it. There is no shame in being safe.

Known for his days as a heavy metal rocker with Twisted Sister in the 1980s, Dee Snider always makes an impression.  Fortunately for the March of Dimes, Snider uses his star power and passion for motorcycles to help children in need.

Snider once again led the March of Dimes Bikers for Babies Charity Ride as its Grand Marshall and National Event Spokesman. The ride took place on Sunday, September 13^th and featured featured approximately 1000 bikers riding from Middletown, CT to the Elks Lodge in Westbrook, CT.

Each year Snider leads the ride and visits the University of Connecticut Medical Center’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. As the father of 2 premature children, Snider has been a steadfast contributor to children health initiatives.

Proceeds from this year’s biker event will support research and support programs and the University of Connecticut. For a recap of this year’s event and for information about next year’s event when scheduled, visit the official site for Bikers for Babies. The 2010 event will be a great way to enjoy a great day of riding and support neonatal research.

At motorcycle events and gatherings, bikers frequently try to outdo each other. This usually takes place through their bikes. Bikers spend thousands of dollars to make sure their bike makes their friends a little bit green with envy. Bikers also try to outdo each other with motorcycle apparel and accessories too.

One thing is for certain, bikers love to show how much they know about bikes, the motorcycle industry, current events, and people.

One of the best ways to stay on pace with happenings around the motorcycle world is to subscribe to a few motorcycle magazines. There are dozens of magazines that take on all types of subjects like motorcycle reviews, new products, accessories, how to guides, people, events, races, technology, featured custom builders, and much more.

Magazines like Iron Horse, American Iron, Motorcycling, Motorcyclist, V-Twin, and Ultimate Motorcycling are a few to check out. With a little online research, you can find the right motorcycle magazine for your taste.

One of the best parts of most of these magazines is the feedback or reader comments sections. It’s great to hear from the experts but even better to hear from everyday bikers.

Bikers are a very diverse group and other than the mutual love of riding motorcycles, and often vary on riding style, bikes, apparel, age, race, sex, riding skill, income, profession, education level and dozens of other factors.

With all these differences, it’s understandable that that the motorcycle industry itself is so diverse. Motorcycle manufacturers produce all sorts of bikes from the 200MPH Suzuki Hayabusa to the 300cc Johnny Pag cruisers, to the mammoth 2000cc Kawasaki Vulcan.

There is one common thread across over 99% of motorcycles and that is shifting gears.

It stands to reason that there should be a large, untapped demographic of current and potential riders that want to ride a real motorcycle but do not want to shift gears. That’s what Ridley Motorcycles banked on. Clay and Jay Ridley formed Ridley Motorcycles in 1995 to pursue their passion for building motorcycles and their desire to build the world’s best automatic motorcycles.

While they push innovation, sales are very small by comparison. Their desire to be technical mavericks is admirable but, they seemed to have lost sight of some critical factors.

• Tradition: Motorcycles have not really changed since their inception. One of the overriding themes with bikers is becoming part of motorcycling tradition. Automatic motorcycles somehow deflate that tradition.

• Price: New Ridley motorcycles cost generally $15,000-$20,000. For that price, you can buy bikes ranging from Harley Davidson to Honda. In some cases, you could almost buy 2 brand new motorcycles for the cost of a Ridley Auto-Glide Chopper.

• Substitutes: There are plenty of automatic two-wheeled vehicles on the road; they are called mopeds or scooters. They come in a wide variety of styles and sizes and some are even highway legal. You can buy approximately 2 2009 Suzuki Burgman 650 Scooters for the cost of 1 Ridley Auto-Glide Sport and ride all the same roads.

• Competition: Not only does Ridley compete with traditional motorcycles and scooters, but also with Asian automatic motorcycle producers. The QLink Legacy 250 is a fully automatic bike produced in China and retails for under $3000, The Chinese CF MOTO V3 and V5 are fully automatic 250cc bikes also retailing for under $3000.

Ridley makes great looking motorcycles but you won’t catch me on one of them. Bikers want real bikes. Any way you slice it, Ridley produces great looking scooters and most bikers would rather drive a car than ride a scooter.

This Holiday season will be challenging for many families but especially for those in the urban areas in Miami, FL. Without outside assistance, many families will not be able to provide their children with gifts.

This is especially true for families with special needs children.

Black Global Bikers Association and LBS Special Angels, Inc are sponsoring a Motorcycle Toy Run on Sunday, December 13th at Ives Estates Park in Miami, Florida. Registration for the event is $10 and all participants are asked to bring unwrapped toys for blind, sight impaired, or special needs children ages 5-16. Registration for the event is from 8-10AM

Participants will be able to mix and mingle with other bikers, members of the Black Global Bikers Association, and families from the community. The event will feature music, food, and beverages for sale along with a variety of vendors.

This is a great motorcycle event benefiting families in the greater Miami area. Wash your sport bike or cruiser and come down to Miami on December 13^th to help special needs children and have a great time.

Some people like to ski, others like to sun bathe, and others like to gamble. Those are all great vacation options during the winter months. But bikers like to ride motorcycles. Riding a motorcycle is not just a pastime for some bikers, it’s a way of life.

For most bikers, especially in the north, riding a motorcycle in the winter time is simply too cold, too dangerous, and just plain dumb. Taking a motorcycle vacation is the answer to going months without riding or pulling your bike out in dangerous conditions.

Here are some of the best places to pack up and have a motorcycle adventure in the dead of winter.

• California Wine Country: Central and Northern California boast some of the best vineyards in the world. Along with great wine and food comes mild weather, beautiful scenery, and great highways. This is a great destination for couples riding tandem or separately.
• New Zealand: This is certainly not your average motorcycle vacation but for those with a sense of adventure and deep pockets, this could be the vacation of a lifetime. With guided tours from 7-21days, this vacation would make you the envy of biker around the world.
• Florida Keys: Florida is the perfect getaway for bikers who love fun in the sun, beautiful scenery, and pristine roads. The ride to Key West is one of the best rides a biker can take. For those with a wild side, South Florida has some great biker bars too.
• Hawaii: Big Kahuna Rentals in Honolulu, Oahu, and Waikiki offers both Harley and sport bike rentals and tours. From volcanoes to black sand beaches to tropical forests, you can never go wrong with a motorcycle vacation in Hawaii.
• Las Vegas: For those who can pull themselves away from the glitz of the Vegas strip, there are  motorcycle tours of the great American desert that are nothing less than spectacular. Taking in the Hoover Dam, the Grand Canyon, Death Valley, or Zion’s National Park will make your Vegas vacation even more memorable.

Bikers don’t need excuses or reasons to ride. All that’s needed are good weather, good roads, and a good bike. Making your next winter vacation a motorcycle getaway is the best way to shake off the winter blues.

Every now and then, it’s great to escape the city and get away from it all. For bikers in the Washington, D.C. area, that biker getaway is very close.

About an hour’s ride west from DC to Front Royal, VA is the starting point for the Skyline Drive ride. This slow ride south through the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Shenandoah National Park heads south to Waynesboro, VA. While the ride is only about 100 miles, plan at least 4 hours to complete the trip.

In contrast to the DC area, the Skyline Drive offers fantastic views of Virginia’s rolling hills and forests. Along with the scenic views, be prepared to see both deer and black bears crossing the road.

Even though this ride is remote, there are plenty of areas to stop to rest, enjoy the scenery, and grab a bit to eat. The roads are pristine so this ride is great for fully loaded cruisers or sport bikes. Make sure to take your time because the speed limit is typically 35 MPH. Also, make sure to pack motorcycle accessories like rain gear, waterproof boots, and gloves in case you run into unexpected rain.

Pacific Coast Highway 1 is a celebrity among American roads and highways. Some of the accolades it has received include being listed as one of nine ‘All American Roads’ by the U.S. Department of Transportation and one of the Most Scenic Rides in America. Clearly, Pacific Coast Highway 1 is a star.

For bikers, riding the Pacific Coast Highway is as good as it gets. The road offers the technical challenge of negotiating hills, blind turns, and traffic. A mistake on this highway could result in a head on collision with a vehicle, rear ending a slow vehicle, or a several hundred foot drop off a cliff. This ride is not for rookie bikers.

The reward for this ride is some of the most stunning scenery in the world. This ride features views of the Pacific Ocean, coastal mountains peaks and valleys, rock outcroppings, waterfalls, redwood forests, and flowered meadows.

Along the highway, whales, sharks, sea lions, falcons, butterflies, and other types of wild life can be seen from various vantage points. There are also a number of lighthouses and 18^th century Spanish missions along the route.

The best way to enjoy the Pacific Coast Highway is to start south and head north to Monterey, CA. As a destination, Monterey has lots of offer and makes a great place for bikers to jump off their bikes and enjoy the landscape. Monterey has lots of restaurants museums, galleries, and tours. This area is also known as Butterfly USA due to the winter migration of a large variety butterflies; some migrating from as far as Canada. One of the best tours in the area is Hearst Paradise, the mansion/castle built by former publishing giant William Randolph Hearst.

Depending on the time of the year, motorcycle apparel and gear can be very important. Generally, the weather in this region is mild but rain could be a factor. Since this route has lots of twists and turns, checking and possibly changing your motorcycle tires for a ride like this is a smart move.

Riders of all types uniformly say that the Pacific Coast Highway is one of the best rides a motorcyclist can take. It doesn’t matter what type of bike you ride, this highway offers the type of scenery and challenge that all bikers can appreciate. Make sure to watch the road more than the scenery while driving. Like any scenic highway, traffic can sometimes get congested.

Florida is made for motorcycling. The sunshine state has fantastic weather for 12 months, beautiful scenery, and some of the best roads for cruising on a Harley or sport bike. More than any state, Florida has great places to ride all year long.

Of all the places to ride in Florida, there is one ride that is a pilgrimage. Every rider in Florida has to ride to Key West.

The motorcycle ride to Key West is not a technical ride. If you are looking for a ride to challenge your abilities to handle your motorcycle safely, this is not the one. The only real challenge is avoiding the sometimes chaotic traffic in Miami to get to the upper Keys.

Once arriving at the upper Keys, this ride is all about scenic views of water and wild life. This leisurely motorcycle cruise offers great places to stop and relax along the way. If you have a fear of bridges, then stay away from this ride. If not, the water views are spectacular; especially at dusk and dawn.

One of the great stops on the way to Key West is Gilbert’s on Key Largo. A favorite of boaters and bikers for years, Gilbert’s has a live band every night, great food and drink prices, and the type of atmosphere any biker would love. Key Largo has several hotels/motels for catching some sleep before continuing the trip.

Once at Key West, there are dozens of biker bars to meet up with fellow bikers making the trip. Sloppy Joe’s, Hog’s Breath Saloon, Hard Rock Café Key West, and the Rum Barrel are among some of the favorites of bikers and vacationers. Probably the most famous bar on Key West is Jimmy Buffet’s Margaritaville.

Before heading back to the mainland, make sure to stop by the southern most point of the United States. Taking a picture 90 miles from Cuba while sitting on US soil is a great way to end your Key West adventure and commemorate a fantastic ride.

Whether you start from Orlando, Tampa, Naples, or the greater Miami area, this is a great ride with a pack of buddies or as a solo rider. Just make sure to map out the best course to avoid traffic, especially in Miami. Also, make sure to pick times/dates that do not coincide with major Key West event. Traffic to Key West can be very slow and make your motorcycle road trip painfully slow.

Many bikers have an anti-establishment disposition and shy away from joining mainstream groups. That makes sense because being a biker is an expression of individualism. But sometimes, bikers have to stick together in a cohesive, organized form in order to protect the rights and privileges of bikers everywhere.

The American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) has been the flagship motorcycling organization since 1924. The AMA supports motorcycling rights, riding, and racing through member clubs, events, promotions, and advocacy. The AMA is the world’s largest motorcycle association with over 300,000 and supports biker initiatives across the country on local, state, and national levels.

There are some great benefits to joining the AMA. Members receive free access to the AMA roadside assistance program, money saving discounts with major retailers, and a subscription to the American Motorcyclist Magazine. There are also discounts with online motorcycle retailers and access to over 3000 AMA sanctioned events.

If you love motorcycling, joining the AMA is a great way to show it. Join as an individual member or register your club. Either way, you will help make sure the biker lifestyle for successfully rolls into the future.