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Riding ATV’s can be a fun experience. However, keep in mind these atv safety tips to ensure your trip is enjoyable and disaster free!

WEAR APPROPRIATE CLOTHING ITEMS – Make sure you put on a helmet, goggles, and other appropriate protective clothing to the weather and terrain at all times. A helmet, gloves, over-the-ankle boots, and a long time sleeve shirt are all crucial areas of your selected gear.

OBEY THE LAW – Learn the ATV legalities in your state, and the spots you will end up riding in.  Familiarity with the legal guidelines, not only helps in keeping individuals risk-free, but also prevents fine and penalties.

WATCH YOUR SPEED – Always ride at an appropriate speed. Come to terms with your skills and don’t exceed your riding ability. Operating at high speeds not only endangers yourself, but others as well.

NO PASSENGERS – Never carry passengers on your own ATV. Most ATV’s are created for a single provision only. Incorporating travelers on an ATV made for one person, can distress the equilibrium of a typical system, and can cause it to rollover. Many recent ATV’s are specifically designed for one or more riders.

GET SKILLED – Do not allow young or naive riders to operate ATV’s without guidance and supervision. An ATV should be an enjoyable machine to ride.  However, an ATV consists of a powerful apparatus, which can result in excessive speeds. Therefore, it is essential to master its functions and controls. Like driving a car, you first have to practice to enhance your skills.

NEVER RIDE ALONE – It is always best to ride with other ATV riders. Try not to ride alone. This way, if a mishap does occur, you have people around to help you.

CHECK THE WEATHER – Learn of regional weather conditions. Many people disregard weather features, which have a dramatic affect on roadways. For example: rainfall makes paths murky and smooth, while blizzards hide several obstacles within the snow. In addition, the sun can cause dehydration. Therefore, wear a protective suit to arm yourself from the elements.

CARRY A MAP – Have a map of all those roads or place you want to travel to. It’s really no fun to get lost. If you can’t get a map, purchase a GPS unit. The latest GPS’s have got “path” functions, which offer paths you can ride on, and also trace where you ride. You can even find your way back if lost.

Employ COMMON SENSE – It’s as simple as that!

Image Source: Popular Mechanics

Scooters4Hooters Legacy Ride

April 16th, 2011

12pm – 6pm, Ride: 1pm – 2:15pm

New Location: Downtown Orlando @ Lake Eola Park (corner of Eola & Central)
Map/Directions

Scooters4Hooters™ began as a legacy scooter ride through Orlando, in support of Libby’s Legacy Breast Cancer Foundation™ in 2007. Libby’s Legacy™ was started in honor of Libby Maynard, by her daughter Robin, after losing her mother to Stage IV Breast Cancer. All proceeds from the annual ride and other events go to Libby’s Legacy™.

The Mission of Libby’s Legacy is to provide comprehensive breast heath care to the underserved Central Florida community through education, mammograms, follow up diagnostics and Hope Coaches on the journey from diagnosis to treatment. Libby’s Legacy also helps stage IV breast cancer patients battling this disease by granting wishes in order to create cherished memories with loved ones through the LIVE BIG program. Not just Surviving…but LIVING! Scooters4Hooters™ was created to be a fun and unique way to support this dream.

Your support is needed and greatly appreciated, please use the link below to access the fundraising page:

http://www.scooters4hooters.com/fundraising.php?id=146

…even when you’ve been riding for years. Yeah, you probably have your motorcycle license. And let’s hope you already know how to ride. But have you given deep thought to how you’re going to keep riding for years to come without causing injury to yourself or others?

Motorcycle Safety 101

Perhaps you’ve already been riding for years and you may think you know all there is to know about riding a motorcycle. Many old time riders learned from their buddies how to ride or taught themselves to ride. But one look at motorcycle crash statistics will tell you it never hurts to take refresher course. A motorcycle safety course is a good start. Not only will the course cover the basics and fundamentals of riding safety, after you take it, you may even qualify for a discount on your motorcycle insurance. Check with your insurance carrier to find out.

Helmet Hair

Whether you live in a state or country where it’s mandatory or not, wearing a helmet may be the easiest thing you do that provides the most protection from injury, or even worse, death.  A USA national statistic says that motorcycle riders are 37 times more likely to die than those riding in passenger vehicles. That statistic alone should encourage you to wear a helmet. Many of those deaths are due to severe head trauma or brain injury. No one wants to be responsible for injury to another rider, especially when it can be so easily avoided just by putting a helmet on. Make sure it’s DOT, Snell or ECE certified.

Darth Vader Gear

Aside from a helmet, there are many other components of proper safety gear to protect every part of your body in the event of an accident. A jacket made from abrasion-resistant material is key. Most of us would prefer a broken bone to a bad case of road rash. Accident statistics show that injuries to the lower half of the body account for half of all injuries suffered. Avoid becoming one of those statistics with pants made from leather or Kevlar, with padding in all the right places.

Keep it Running Smooth

We love our bikes and want to make sure they run properly, and to be safe to ride. A well-formed preventive maintenance schedule will keep your bike in good condition. Performing quick inspections every time you prepare to ride your bike is a good method to keeping safe. Checking tire pressure and making  sure the tires aren’t damaged. Also make sure that the lights work, and that everything is where it should be.

Being a responsible rider, and remember  that a motorcycle is a vehicle and not a toy are the final keys to staying safe when riding your motorcycle. Knowing you and your passenger are safe will allow you to enjoy riding all the more.

Climbing onto your motorbike and heading off to a different country can be an incredibly exciting and liberating experience but it’s important to be well prepared before setting off on such a journey. It’s not as simple as just hopping on your bike and riding off into the sunset, so do your research before reaching for your keys. Here are five things to think about before heading abroad with your bike:

Insurance

Don’t assume that your motorcycle insurance policy will cover you abroad if you’re unsure. Always check with your provider to make sure that you are fully insured to ride within the EU and, if so, also ask for the protocol to follow should you be unfortunate enough to have and accident or have your bike stolen while you’re away.

Breakdown cover

Again, your current breakdown cover might not extend to recovery while abroad, so be sure to check with your provider before setting off. It’s always better to be safe than sorry; being stuck in a different country unable to get your bike home doesn’t sound like much of a holiday.

Check your bike

It’s a great idea to have your bike serviced before such a big trip to ensure that it’s running as well as it possibly can, making it less likely to give you any problems while you’re away. Also make sure that you have sufficient time left on both your MOT and road tax to cover you through to the end of your trip.

Passport

Keep your passport in a safe location at all times during your trip – you’ll need it to cross borders, and it’s also required at some European campsites or hotels before you receive entry to your accommodation.

Vehicle Registration Document

Every EU country requires motorbike riders to travel with their original V5 document as proof that the bike is registered to you. France takes a particularly hard line on this; police there have the power to detain anyone who can’t prove ownership of their motorbike.

With these simple tips and some general research on riding abroad, you’ll ensure you don’t come across any unexpected obstacles during your travels.

BMW sent ripples through the motorcycle industry gathered at the European Motorcycle show in mid-October when it unveiled an in-line, 6-cylinder, K1600 series to be delivered to BMW dealers this spring.  The new BMW was featured in a special episode of Jay’s Garage with Jay Leno, and the thought that comes to mind is simply awe-inspiring.

BMW Motorrad first presented its in-line 6 concept bike in the fall of 2009, and the thought of a 6 cylinder cruiser from BMW has captured the imagination of many motorcycle enthusiasts.  In fact, one look at this touring bike and it makes you want to hop on it and head on down the road.  No matter where the road might lead, any motorcycle lover can see that the experience will be thrilling and exhilarating to say the least.

The key to any great touring motorcycle is the incorporation of safety, equipment and comfort elements, as well as prestige, performance, and luxury.  BMW has managed to seamlessly blend all of these elements in the K1600GT and K1600GTL to a degree that it creates a whole new dimension of long distance comfort and durability, along with unparalleled riding properties.

What you get with this tourer is engine output of 160 bhp, which is plenty of power to get you where you want to go under any conditions.  Additionally, since the engine is significantly narrower than other 6 cylinder models, there are no significant drawbacks in chassis geometry, weight distribution, or center of gravity in this marvelous bike.

In fact, the K1600GT and K1600GTL are breaking new ground in six cylinder bikes with engines greater than 1000 CCs.  BMW’s extremely compact design and engineering applications on this bike model make it a joy to ride.

The result is an extremely lightweight motorcycle at only 766 pounds, panniers and topcase included, which places this BMW model in the lower range of the touring segment.  However, if your first concern is safety, the lighter weight and great amount of power do not force you to compromise personal security.

The engine has three different settings available simply by pressing a button on the right hand side of the handlebars.  What you are able to do is change your bike from a touring motorcycle to one that handles well in the rain, and one that handles well under dynamic or sports-like conditions.

The bike is full of innovative concepts, such as ESA II or Electronic Suspension Adjustment II.  As a rider, you press another button, and instantly adapt rebound dampening properties of the front and rear spring, as well as the spring load or spring rest or the rear spring strut.  You also adjust the spring rate, or hardness of the suspension, which adds to the bikes outstanding stability and responsiveness in any load state.

Additionally, the bike allows for damping settings such as sport, normal or comfort, which creates a perceptible characteristic when touring.  Whatever damping setting you choose, you will never sacrifice stability, safety and comfort.