In the article, Attorney General Martha Coakley stated that a settlement of $12.1 million will be distributed among motorcyclists from five insurance companies in the state after her office investigated and found evidence of intentionally overestimated premiums.  These companies had driven up premiums for motorcyclists with “inflated and un-depreciated motorcycle values.”

Earlier in 2010, other settlements were reached with additional insurance companies for their covered motorcyclists, bringing the total of recovered money to consumers to nearly $39 million, with about $1.5 million headed back to the Commonwealth.

It was reported that Coakley stated the investigation began with one motorcyclist’s complaint and the investigation revealed many, many more.

If you or someone you know has been in a motorcycle accident, download Attorney Thomas M. Kiley’s free motorcycle book BEFORE you sign any insurance forms or hire a lawyer,

To contact an experienced Massachusetts motorcycle lawyer, call the toll-free number 1-800-410-2769 for a FREE Consultation.

This event is truly a must for motorcycle enthusiasts. Whether you ride or drive to this event, you owe it to yourself to take in the sights, sounds, and activities of the week. Although it can be a very crowded event, you’ll find that the vast majority of people are friendly and looking to have a great time.

Still, there are some precautions to take in order to make sure things go smoothly. Here are a few last minute suggestions:

• Accommodations: It is probably too late to find accommodations in the Daytona area so why not stay in the Orlando area? It is less than a one-hour drive or ride to Daytona and you may be able to get a cheap rate.
• Sobriety: Save the drinking for when you done riding or driving for the day. Once parked and you don’t have to deal with extreme traffic, then relax and enjoy yourself.
• Riding vs. Driving: Riding a motorcycle during Bike Week can be fun but frustrating. Slow traffic, limited parking, and the large number of bikers can be a dangerous situation. At last year’s event, there were 7 fatalities.
• Days to attend: Bike Week is most well attended during the weekends but it is still a great event during the week. With slightly smaller crowds, easier parking, and less traffic, going to Bike Week during the week is a great option.
• Thieves: Don’t think you can’t be a victim of motorcycle theft. Be sure to secure your bike and make sure to follow common sense when parking and leaving your bike. If you are considering motorcycle insurance, you might want to get it before going to Bike Week. Make sure to review theft coverage.

Believe me, I understand their concern.

I have been riding motorcycles for most of my adult life (about 15 years) and there was a time when my short stature was a concern. Although I am a good sized guy, I am only 5”7”. When I considered buying my first motorcycle, my size versus the size of the bike was a factor.

Here’s what I look at when I size a bike to my stature.

• Seat: I make sure to change the seat to a slimmer version. Although slimmer seats are not as comfortable on long rides, the center of gravity of the bike (while riding it) reduces by .5 to 1 full inch. This is a great help when maneuvering at slow speeds or if you have to put your feet down.

• Seat Height: If the seat height is a bit tall for my short legs, I look at lowering it by replacing the rear and/or front suspension. Progressive Suspension makes great products to lower your bike by 1-2 inches below stock. This makes handling the bike much easier; especially when power walking.

• Handlebars/Pullback: To maintain a comfortable, upright riding position, changing the handlebars is great. Handlebars with longer pull back (how far the bars come back towards the rider from the forks) can make reaching the hand controls very simple.

By taking a close look at these three factors, you can make any bike fit like a glove. Trust me, I’ve owned crotch rockets, cruisers, and big baggers and have never felt like my height was a disadvantage.

Biker parents love the fact their kids love motorcycles too. They usually encourage their interest. Biker parents love to buy motorcycle apparel and accessories for kids, and have been known to buy electric motorized motorcycles for their young children so they enjoy riding their own bike.

Biker parents should also remember teach their kids about motorcycle safety. Not only should biker parents tell their kids about rider safety but about all the dangers of motorcycles and why those safety measures are important.

Motorcycle safety for kids: Kids at a young age need to understand motorcycle safety. The sooner they know about rider safety, the better they will be in the future if they choose to ride motorcycles. It’s never too early to start teaching children about motorcycle safety.

Dangers of hot pipes: Teach your kids that motorcycle pipes are very hot and can cause very bad burns. Teach them to stay away from bikes that were recently ridden. Always teach them to be extremely careful before touching a motorcycle. It’s best to keep your bike covered at all times if you have small children.

Respecting a motorcycle’s weight: If a motorcycle falls on a small child, it would be impossible for them to move it. Children must be taught not to play around a parked motorcycle because of how much they weigh.

Field trip: Take your kids and their friends on a field trip to your local motorcycle dealer or a motorcycle event for kids. You’d be surprised how much they can learn and how this knowledge can protect them around your bike at home.

Motorcycles are great fun for the whole family. Make sure that your kids both enjoy and respect your motorcycle.

Motorcycle safety means many things. It is not just making sure you don’t have a catastrophic accident. Motorcycle safety means that you know how to properly operate and maintain your vehicle in a wide variety of circumstances. Being a safe motorcycle rider requires practice, study, concentration, and a good attitude.

There are lots of things to know about motorcycles. One of the things frequently overlooked is one of the easiest and unforgivable ways of getting stranded.

That’s running out of gas.

Surprising, it happens a lot. Bikers forget that their bikes only have 3-6 gallon gas tanks and have ranges that vary from 100-300 miles. If you have a faulty fuel gauge, you may find yourself stranded in the middle of no where.

Here are some easy ways to keep that from happening:

• Maintenance: Next time you go to your motorcycle mechanic, make sure he checks your motorcycle gauges. If something doesn’t work, fix it or replace it. They are very important.

• Gas Up: Almost every time I go out on my bike, I stop by the gas station and top off my tank. You should do the same, especially if you are riding with no specific destination in mind.

• Use Your Trip Odometer: If you bike has a speedometer, it very like also has an odometer and resettable trip odometer. Use the resettable trip odometer to determine your motorcycle’s range per tank. When you gas up, reset it to zero and when your fuel light comes on, look to see how many miles have gone by. This is a great safe guard in case your fuel gauge fails.

• Know Your Terrain: If you are going on a long trip, map out the gas stations. That way, you’ll know when you need to stop or when you can keep rolling along. Passing a gas station could mean disaster if the next station is 50 miles past your motorcycle’s range.

There is nothing more embarrassing and potentially dangerous than running out of gas. Using a few easy tricks, it will never happen. Use your gauges to learn your bikes range and have a simple plan. That will keep you on the road and off the side of it.

I think that there will be a substantial market for electric motorcycles. In the United States, these motorcycles could be great options in vacation destinations as a contender to the convenient but not very cool scooter. Since motorcycles are lower cost luxury items for most Americans, the potential for more sales than the higher priced electric vehicles is clearly there. With less moving parts, maintenance costs on electric motorcycles may be less than current motorcycle maintenance.

Electric motorcycles might also be huge in the developing world where gas prices and pollution are extremely high.

Zero Motorcycles is already making great electric motorcycles for the dirt tracks and for the open road. Honda has also expressed interest in contributing significant resources to developing electric motorcycles. With Honda’s history of innovation, it won’t be too long before we see electric motorcycles at local bike nights next to Harleys, sport bikes, and cruisers.

I have to admit, before I got to any of those sites, I check Craigslist first.

Craigslist is not a motorcycle site or a social network. Craigslist is a bulletin board site organized by country, state, and city that allowing regular people to post ads regarding a wide variety of subjects ranging from jobs, activities, and personal ads.

The ‘For Sale’ section of the site is very robust and individuals can find a wide variety of items and rock bottom prices. This is especially true regarding motorcycles and motorcycle related products. In this economy, many people list their motorcycles for sale for much needed cash. This means great deals for anyone who has some money and a need for a motorcycle product.

Whenever buying a used motorcycle or product, make sure to do your due diligence. Craisglist is filled with honest people but unfortunately, there are a few unscrupulous buyers and sellers that will try to take your money.

With a little caution and common sense, you’ll be pleased with the experience.

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.

The same is true for motorcycle retailers. Dealers have to find ways to sell motorcycles in tough economic times to keep their doors open. If not, they may be forced to shut down.

New and used motorcycle sales slow down significantly in the winter months; particularly in cold weather States. Those looking to buy a motorcycle tend to wait until the riding season to buy so they can immediately go out and ride their shiny new sport bike or cruiser. This makes sense from a riding perspective but from a fiscal standpoint, this logic is seriously flawed.

In basic economics, when demand for a product increases so does its price.

When it comes to getting great deals on motorcycles, the best plan is to wait until there are lots of sellers and few buyers. And that is in the winter.

The downside to this plan is that you will probably have to wait a few months until you can ride your new bike comfortably. You can probably get a few rides in provided you have great winter motorcycle gear but, generally you will have to wait until spring.

When shopping for a new motorcycle, make sure to shop around and make the dealers fight for your business. Don’t be afraid to ask a dealer for their best price and let them know if their price is the best price you’ve received. Believe me, the motorcycle dealers want to sell the motorcycle to you more than you want to buy it. They will do everything they can to win your business.

With used bikes, cash is king. Often, used motorcycle dealers or individuals will be happy to take a quick cash offer than to wait week or months for another buyer to come along.  This is especially true among motivated motorcycle sellers who need to turn their bike into quick cash.

You can still use the winter riding break to your advantage by taking the time to make sure your bike is ready for the riding season. During the winter months, you can get great deals on accessories like motorcycle exhaust, chrome, tires, brakes, and other items. You’ll probably find your local motorcycle mechanic will be happy to do the work at discounted labor charge.

Since the mid 1940s, bikers have ridden Harleys as a symbol of being a true American rebel. Some of the original motorcycle clubs required that all members only ride Harley Davidson motorcycles. The legend of Harleys can be seen everywhere in American culture:  in books, movies, and among celebrities. From movies like the Wild Ones to Wild Hogs, Harley motorcycles are the only motorcycles that capture the spirit of true rebel bikers.

Now it’s time for you to get your first Harley and you are excited. It is a major step because not only are Harley’s the coolest bikes on the road, they are among the most expensive to purchase and maintain. Buying a Harley is not a decision to take lightly regardless of your income level.

• Cost: Even used Harleys can cost over $10,000. Carefully research the bike you want and consider miles, wear, and overall condition against your budget.
• Rider Skill: Harleys, especially the larger ones, can weight close to 1000 lbs fully loaded. While they are fun to ride, they require a higher level of rider skill. Some Harleys are not ideal first bikes.
• Storage: Harleys need to be stored in a garage or an enclosed structure to keep the bike running and looking great.
• Maintenance: Maintenance of a Harley, especially used ones, can sometimes be an unforeseen expense. Talk to other Harley owners to get their opinions on the best and most cost effective ways to keep your bike out of the repair shop and on the road.
• Riding Style: Harleys have a great ride but they are not race bikes. If you have a need for extreme speed, then a Harley may not be for you.
• Noise: One of the best or potentially worse things about a Harley is its sound. For riders with noise sensitivity, Harleys can be overwhelming.

The main thing about buying a Harley is to do your research. There are lots of Harley riders, clubs, associations, and online sources to get information about the Harley of you desire. Have fun as you research and when you find that perfect Road King or Street Glide, go for it!