Students Of Success

Imagine you have been trying all kinds of remedies and various exercises on losing weight and they seem not to work on you. You kind of think that your body does not respond to these techniques you have been applying and you have been having sleepless nights always wondering how best you can do it in order to lose weight. To some people losing weight is a major issue and it may cause depression, anxiety and even disturb your social life. There are various techniques which can be considered when exercising to lose weight and these work well. Some techniques work very fast and results can be noticed within a few weeks and these are the use of supplements such as fat burners, sliming tablets which are used during exercises.

The use of natural remedies during exercises is very effective. Having enough rest and eating a balanced diet can also reduce weight during exercises as this helps overcome the excess of fat deposit. Visiting a gym is highly recommended, also various exercise equipments are available and an instructor is available to help you during your exercises. The more you exercise is the more you will get positive results as long you are doing the exercises properly.

More sport and exercise tips

The majority of motorcycle braking systems have a right-front lever for activating the front brake and a right foot pedal for activating the rear brake. There exist some variations on the basic motorcycle brake systems. Some of these innovations may affect how you handle low-speed manuevers.

1. Integrated brakes: Application of the rear brake will cause some application of the front brake.

2. Linked brakes: Application of either the rear or front brake will cause some pressure to be applied to the opposite brake.

3. Anti-lock brakes: Popular in BMW and the Yamaha FJR bikes. These are designed to minimize skidding in the event of a maximum-braking straight-line stop.

If you are going to learn anything about motorcycling, it is Stopping a motorcycle in the shortest possible distance. I urge you to practice in a safe place, an empty parking lot in order to keep your braking skills sharp.

Straight-Line Braking

You may ask, but how do I implement maximum motorcycle braking? Well, the best way to achieve maximum braking is to apply both brakes fully without locking either wheel. Simultaneously squeeze the front brake lever and apply the rear brake pedal. Keepyour body centered and keep looking straight ahead to maintain your balance. Do not look down or you will most likely go down. Looking straight ahead helps you to keep the motorcycle in a straight line.

Braking in a Curve

The important thing to remember about braking in a curve is that the amount of traction available to you and your tires is reduced. Why? well this is because there is a limited amount of grip (surface area of the tire) existing between the tires and the road surface when the motorcycle is in a leaning over position. Now the key to stopping quickly in a curve is to get the motorcycle in an upright straight position as soon as possible. Time is distance, do it quickly. You want to do this so that the maximum amount of traction is available for braking. By uprighting the bike, more surface area of the tire will be in contact with the road. If road and traffic conditions allow, straighten up the motorcycle first and center or square the handlebar before you apply maximum braking. You will now be making a Straight-line stop.

Ok, there may be a tome when conditions do not allow you to straighten out your bike and time to square your handlebar. These are, running off the road in a left-hand turn (me, I did this) or dealing with the uncoming traffic in a right-hand turn. In these conditions, you will need to apply both brakes smoothly and easy. Do not slam down on the brake controls, this will most likely cause you to lock up one or both tires and cause you a world of problems such as going down. As you gradually apply the brakes, the lean angle will be reduced into a more upright position, as this occurs apply more braking force.

The goal is to have the motorcycle straight up at the end of a stop. Remember, this is the reason you want to center up the handlebar as you near the end of the stop.

Contributing author to Cycle Solutions.
http://www.cyclesolutions.net

Why should motorcycle riders wear protective leather clothing? Because the high quality leather jackets and leather chaps can save your life as well as keep you warm and looking good.

I want to hit on the key aspects of why you are buying your leathers. Protection, Warmth, and Looks.

A lot of our customer’s main concern is safety. How safe are our jackets? Well, safety is one of those things that is hard to measure. (Like glove warmth, it really depends on how cold natured you are as to how warm you will feel.) I would suggest trying to determine how safe you feel you need to be vs. the leather thickness. Fox Creek Leather uses only the best, thick, and durable cowhides. So thick in fact, that an EMT went through 4 pair of shears to remove them after a wreck. You can read about this crash testimonial and others on our site. So yeah, our gear holds up.

You also need warmth when it is cool and a breeze when it is hot while still looking “cool” while riding. Almost all of our jackets have a vent system to help accomplish the comfort level of your ride. To keep cool, there are two generous vents in the front and in the back works (with a tough mesh shell) to allow maximum airflow. When it starts to cool off, just zip up your vents and put the zip out thinsulate liner back in it for added warmth.

Everything was designed by a motorcycle rider to ensure that you get the most functionality out of your leathers as possible. As an added bonus, you look good in the soft, buttery leather.

Anyway, to keep my blog from turning into a full blown advertisement, let’s move onto the topic of the leather itself. Specifically, what type of leather should you buy? What qualities should you be looking for in the leather itself?

Check the grain, the dye process, and the thickness of the leather.

The best leathers are thick, drum dyed, naked leather. This means that the grain of the hide is unaltered. (Lesser hides are corrected by sanding to remove imperfections, making it hard to see the grain). With naked leather, you can see the actual scars that that particular cow obtained during its lifetime. Only the highest quality hides can be used to make naked leather. Drum dyed leathers are immersed in a drum of dye and tumbled. This method provides the most even and permanent dying that will not bleed.

But the interesting thing is that I am talking about purchasing leathers from an online business. It’s hard to feel, inspect, and even smell the leathers over the internet. So it is important to check the return policy. Don’t be afraid to ask questions, no matter what they may be. Last but not least, get help with the sizing. Most companies sizing differs and help from a sales associate can save time and shipping expenses.

Article originally posted on the Fox Creek Leather Blog website by Scarlett McGrady. http://www.foxcreekleather.com

Camping on a motorcycle can present a real challenge, because you can’t carry much weight or volume, and there are few places to store your equipment on a motor bike.

Most motor cycle riders use bags or panniers at the back of their machines to hold the camping gear. These have to be tough and waterproof - a bit like their owners - to keep the camping equipment safe from the weather. And you don’t want anything coming loose and flying off either. It might cause an accident and you could be held liable for damages - or worse.

With a truck or an automobile, you can put your camping gear on the inside. But with a motorcycle, it’s got to be fitted pretty much on the outside of your machine. Some fancy fairings (wind breaks) have small pockets, but they don’t hold much camping gear at all.

You can usually fit a large cube-shaped bag on the rear luggage rack or pillion seat, and maybe a tank bag on the motorcycle petrol tank, and that’s it.

Some bikes may have a couple of large panniers at the back, like the leather saddlebags you see on some Harleys, or the stylish ‘fat briefcase’ types you see on a German BMW tourer. (I’ve always wanted one of those.)

All your camping gear has got to fit inside that limited space, so camping on a motorcycles gives you the same kind of storage constraints as a backpacker, except you can travel a lot faster than on foot.

Depending on whether you’re riding the bike solo or two-up, you’ll want a small tent, sleeping bag (or bags), sleeping pad(s) between you and the ground, a small camp stove, cook kit, plastic mugs, bowls, spoons and maybe knives & forks as well.

Have tea or coffee-making supplies, including powdered milk in an airtight container or sweetened condensed milk. (Anything else leaks or spoils too easy in my experience.) As for myself, I love to sleep in a Hennessey Hammock it’s perfect in the warmer weather and keeps the mosquitos away from you, so you get a good night’s sleep.

Just carry enough food (and water) to make a couple of hasty meals for when you’re tired, cold and hungry and miles from a diner or a McDonald’s.

Then include a change of clothing and extra socks and underwear. Toilet kit - toothbrush, toothpaste or powder, half a bar of soap (or a small cake or soap from a hotel), a small towel, comb, a few band aids, some asprin or Tylenol pain killers, and any feminine hygiene stuff or prescription medicines needed.

Out in the country or on the interstate highways, the larger gas stations that cater to truckers will have hot showers as well. That can really refresh you if you’ve been camping away from the comforts of home for a few days. Buy a meal there as well, to pay for the shower.

For camp lighting carry a small flashlight and / or a candle. Some will take a mechanic’s ‘trouble light’ which has a long cord and runs of the motorcycle’s 12 volt battery. If you’re going to be in a campground with mains electricity, by all means carry a mains-powered ‘trouble light’.

These are the things a mechanic uses when crawling under your auto to inspect it at the garage.

Your motorcycle should already have it’s own small tool kit, but it could be wise to carry a spare inner-tube and a pump. In case you get a flat tire 50 miles from nowhere. Here’s where membership of an auto club would be a good idea, just as carrying a cell phone (mobile phone) would also be cheap insurance.

The only other thing you need when camping on a motorcycle is a sense of humor and a large helping of common sense. You also need to show courtesy for other road users. Why? Because just about everything out there is bigger than you are! Ride your motor bike carefully, and stay safe and in one piece!

The author, David Harvey, has been camping since he was a boy and riding motorbikes since 1967. He now lives in Australia where he still enjoys camping and motor cycling. David has picked up a tip or two during those 40 years that he’s happy to share with you here and on his camping website http://www.All-Camping-Supplies.com.

Trouble Shooting Suspension Problems.

Adjustment locations: Forks

Rebound adjustment (if applicable) is located near the top of the fork. Compression adjustment (if applicable) is located near the bottom of the fork. Spring preload adjustment (if applicable) is generally hex style and located at the top of the fork.

Lack of Rebound

Symptoms:

• Forks are plush, but increasing speed causes loss of control and traction

• The motorcycle wallows and tends to run wide exiting the turn causing fading traction and loss of control.

• When taking a corner a speed, you experience front-end chatter, loss of traction and control.

• Aggressive input at speed lessons control and chassis attitude suffers.

• Front end fails to recover after aggressive input over bumpy surfaces.

Solution: Insufficient rebound. Increase rebound “gradually” until control and traction are optimized and chatter is gone.

Too Much Rebound

Symptoms:

• Front end feels locked up resulting in harsh ride.

• Suspension tucks in and fails to return, giving a harsh ride. Typically after the first bump, the bike will skip over subsequent bumps and want to tuck the front.

• With acceleration, the front end will tank slap or shake violently due to lack of front wheel tire contact.

Solution: Too much rebound. Decrease rebound “gradually” until control and traction are optimized.

Lack of Compression

Symptoms:

• Front-end dives severely, sometimes bottoming out over heavy bumps or during aggressive breaking.

• Front feels soft or vague similar to lack of rebound.

• When bottoming, a clunk is heard. This is due to reaching the bottom of fork travel.

Solution: Insufficient compression. Increase “gradually” until control and traction are optimized.

Too Much Compression

Symptom:

• Front end rides high through the corners, causing the bike to steer wide. It should maintain the pre-determined sag, which will allow the steering geometry to remain constant.

Solution: Decrease compression “gradually” until bike neither bottoms nor rides high.

Symptom:

• Front end chatters or shakes entering turns. This is due to incorrect oil height and/or too much low speed compression damping.

Solution: First, verify that oil height is correct. If correct, then decrease compression “gradually” until chattering and shaking ceases.

Symptom:

• Bumps and ripples are felt directly in the triple clamps and through the chassis. This causes the front wheel to bounce over bumps.

Solution: Decrease compression “gradually” until control is regained.

Symptom:

• Ride is generally hard, and gets even harder when braking or entering turns.

Solution: Decrease compression “gradually” until control is regained.

Adjustment Locations: Rear Shock

Rebound adjustment (if applicable) is located at the bottom of the shock. Compression adjustment (if applicable) is located on the reservoir. Spring prelude is located at the top of the shock.

Shock: Lack of Rebound

Symptoms:

• The ride will feel soft or vague and as speed increases, the rear end will want to wallow and/or weave over bumpy surfaces and traction suffers.

• Loss of traction will cause rear end to pogo or chatter due to shock returning too fast on exiting a corner.

Solution: Insufficient rebound - Increase rebound until wallowing and weaving disappears and control and traction are optimized.

Shock: Too Much Rebound

Symptoms:

• Ride is harsh, suspension control is limited and traction is lost.

• Rear end will pack in, forcing the bike wide in corners, due to rear squat. It will slow steering because front end is riding high.

• When rear end packs in, tires generally will overheat and will skip over bumps.

• When chopping throttle, rear end will tend to skip or hop on entries.

Solution: Too much rebound. Decrease rebound “gradually” until harsh ride is gone and traction is regained. Decrease rebound to keep rear end from packing.

Shock: Lack of Compression

Symptoms:

• The bike will not turn in entering a turn.

• With bottoming, control and traction are lost.

• With excessive rear end squat, when accelerating out of corners, the bike will tend to steer wide.

Solution: Insufficient compression. Increase compression “gradually until traction and control is optimized and/or excessive rear end squat is gone.

Shock: Too Much Compression

Symptoms:

• Ride is harsh, but not as bad as too much rebound. As speed increases, so does harshness.

• There is very little rear end squat. This will cause loss of traction/sliding. Tire will overheat.

• Rear end will want to kick when going over medium to large bumps.

Solution: Decrease compression until harshness is gone. Decrease compression until sliding stops and traction is regained.

Mark Thompson has spent the past 20 years racing motorcycles and managing Race teams and riders. He now runs the Trackbikes Website along with a number on Internet Ventures

Quality motorcycle gear combines comfort, style, fit, durability, weather protection, and armor. The bottom line with equipment is, you WILL eventually fall, and when you do, you will most likely become very close friends with the pavement. So you need the “maximum impact and abrasion resistance” as possible.

Armor is extra padding sewn into the jacket or pants to cushion likely spots of impact. Road rash is the not so fun part about riding a motorcycle. It is painful and bloody, but impacts can cause serious and sometimes fatal internal damage. So shoulders, elbows, buttocks, and knees are spots that you want to be well protected, as they are the most common of impact points. In any serious crash it isn’t hard to get a bruise on all of these body locations. Other common regions of impact are the chest, back, and collar bone. So as you can see armor placement is crucial.

Material used for armor is another major concern. They are usually composites of plastic and foam. Simple plastic plates would slash through the material and expose you to injury, so they put hard plastic plates inside a thick layer of firm foam. Some garments also have built in spine protectors. If not, however, and you feel that you are not properly protected, jacket liners with armor pads are available for purchase, which are called “body guard jackets”.

For the most part, jackets off the rack consist of small, medium, large, and extra large. But there is more to a well fitting jacket than that. Your protection depends on how well your equipment fits. If you luck out and find a jacket that you like and fits well off the rack, you’re in business. But if you don’t you can order custom made leathers. There is 5 companies worldwide that can do your custom fit; Langlitz, Bates, Z Custom Leather, Vanson, and Aerostitch. But don’t expect to order up your jacket and have it in a week. Each company can only produce about 1600 custom jackets per year, so there is a waiting list as long as the dictionary. So make sure you place your order well before you need to ride, or you could be hooped.

Feel free to reprint this article as long as you keep the article, this caption and author biography in tact with all hyperlinks.

Tyler Brooker is the owner and operator of My Motorcycle Gear - www.my-motorcycle-gear.com, which is the best site on the internet for all motorcycle gear related information.

Minimotos are fast becoming very popular for leisure riding and also for competitive racing use. There has been a marked move towards improving the performance and power characteristics of these miniature racing machines. One such easy way to enhance the performance of your minimoto is to fit a rocket key. The minimoto rocket key is designed with a 10 degree offset and is a direct replacement for the standard straight cut item. Here are the easy to follow instructions for rocket key fitment:

Fitting a minimoto rocket key

1) Firstly remove the pull start unit from the right side of the minimoto engine, which is held in place by 3 hexagonal head screws and 1 bolt attachment to the cylinder head area.

2) On removing the pull start unit the flywheel will be exposed. The flywheel is retained with a 8mm bolt in the centre. Remove the 8mm bolt with a socket and wrench. In order to stop the flywheel rotating whilst undoing the bolt wedge an Allen key in between one of the flywheel fins and lodge it against the footrest support bar.

3) Once the retaing bolt has been removed, the flywheel can be extracted. There are 2 available methods of extraction.

Method 1 - There are two threaded holes in the flywheel, screw 2 long M6 threaded bolts into these 2 holes and turn evenly in a clockwise direction to prise off the flywheel.

Method 2 - Use a purpose made flywheel puller.

4) On removal of the flywheel, the stock key can now be observed resting in its machined slot in the crankshaft end. Using a small pick simply prise the stock key from its slot.

5) Install the new minimoto rocket key in the vacated slot. Note that the 10 degree offset of the new rocket key should point to the right (towards the front of the machine).

6) Once the rocket key has been fitted in its slot, refit the flywheel and secure with its retaining bolt. It is a good idea at this stage to use some thread locking compound on the retaining bolt. Refit the pull start unit and secure.

Now experience and enjoy the power gains from your newly fitted minimoto rocket key.

Minimotos4u http://www.minimotos4u.com is a family run business based in North Lincolnshire. With over 3 years experience of supplying customers with top quality certified minimotos from the most reputable suppliers. We carry extensive stocks of minimoto spares, performance parts, minimoto decals and much more. Specialising in race tuned minimotos in MotoGP livery, we also stock dirt bikes and can cater for all your minimoto needs. For the personal touch contact Minimotos4u http://www.minimotos4u.com
or e-mail dave@minimotos4u.com

Pocket bikes, the minuscule versions of motorbikes, are a major craze nowadays. These bikes are small and light enough to carry under the arm, but big enough for a child to ride. One can find models for children as young as three or four years old. They are cheap, at just over $500, and accelerate quickly to speeds of 55 km/h and faster.

The pocket bikes are not “street legal,” as they do not have VIN numbers and do not have to meet the safety requirements of a motorcycle. As they are quite small in appearance, other motorists may not see them. The riders do not need to possess a license and generally do not wear the suitable protective gear. Mostly, these pocket bikes are run off road and in by lanes. A pocket bike can cause danger to the person who lacks the fine motor skills that are very essential for very precise throttle control.

The pocket bikes come with a forty to forty-nine-cc size engine, and they continue up to 110cc engine. The Honda CRF50 has become a standard in pocket bikes. The rate of speed possible on a pocket bike is breathtaking. There are strong chances of getting hurt if you are not careful while driving it. These bikes make a lot of noise and can be disturbing to neighbors and others. Many other brands of bikes are also available in the market.

An entire industry has sprouted around the modern-day pocket bikes. As a result, pocket bike owners have an array of choices available to them for customizing their pocket bikes with parts and accessories unique for each pocket bike.