AMERiders are here to help you in Preparing for That Awesome Spring Motorcycle Ride that Is quickly Rounding the Corner and gaining on us. For some of you that may have already happened, as you may live in a warmer climate such as Florida like our Website manager does. As Spring rounds the corner it means one thing for bikers: time to hit the road with wheels burning! First things first before you take that first Spring Motorcycle Ride make sure your gear is ready. Don’t worry getting your gear ready for spring is not as difficult as you may think, however, it does take a bit of checking and searching. Then you will be out in the wind having fun. Here are a few tips that AMERiders thinks will help get you ready.
Check your helmet!
If your (lid, brain bucket, or whatever you call your helmet) is older than 5 years, replacing it is something you might want to consider doing. The Snell Foundation and most of the helmet manufacturers will tell you that glues, resins and other materials that are used in manufacturing a helmet can break down over time. Things like hair oils, body fluids, and cosmetics, as well as normal “wear and tear” can all be contributors to this breakdown. Plus, every five years there are great advances in materials, designs, production methods and the standards that go into making and manufacturing helmets.
You may have heard some of your brothers and sisters say….”I heard that if a helmet hits the ground, it should be replaced.” This old biker’s tale isn’t necessarily true, but it isn’t really false either and it can get expensive. If you dropped your helmet on the garage floor don’t break out your wallet yet. You don’t necessarily need to replace it. Look at the manufacturer’s specs. If it says to replace it, follow instructions.
However, a common practice with today’s helmet technology is that if it’s not visibly cracked after it’s been dropped, then you don’t need to replace it. The problem with that is that is that you can’t see what is on the inside. The best thing to do is to go to your nearest dealership that you trust and have them inspect it. What we mean by you trust, is that you trust to check it and not say oh you need a new one just cause they want the money to sell you a new one.
Gloves – the unsung hero of apparel.
Your hands are just as important as you are, you know this as of you don’t have your hands you can’t ride the bike. Gloves are so much more than “something bikers wear to look the part.” In spring, finding the right motorcycle gloves to start your season are important. The type of glove is important whether Summer or winter gloves will depend on how chilly your Spring actually is in your area of the world.
When Spring rolls around and the temp goes up, it may be time to consider summer gloves. And therein lies a different choice. Do you go fingerless gloves or Kevlar-filled safety gloves? Riding can be a challenge in blistering heat, under the hot melting sun. Wearing gloves during warm-weather riding is important for hand protection, and to keep cool and comfortable, choose the right gloves for the season.
Riding Pants or Chaps
The battle lines are drawn. More often than not Americans will don chaps, however, European and Japanese motorcycle fans seem to wear full riding pants. Is that the only difference? If you throw your leg over a Triumph cafe bike, do you have to only wear leather riding pants? Or if you’re on a Road King, is your only option chaps?
No, course it isn’t it’s your bike it is your choice in what you wear on your legs. When Spring hits, it may be a bit chilly so you’ll naturally have gear. But as the weather warms, you might be inclined to shed the layers. There’s no law against not wearing chaps or pants, but keeping safety and of course comfort in mind. Chaps and riding pants are definitely a safety choice when it comes to riding.
What about the Bike
You can’t forget your bike either is it geared up and ready to go for short or long rides? Some of us like to take those short rides but still, they may be longer than our usual run around town so we need to make sure that our Bike is geared up as well. Things like sissy bar bags, windshield bags, toolbar bags, and saddlebags are important things to help us get ready to ride.
Don’t forget though those long hauls we like to make which call for motorcycle luggage or if your just riding around town don’t forget you can use a backpack as well.
Last but certainly not least
Boots! Your feet are what help you hold the bike up. They need to have good soles and great tread and needs to at least be waterproof as well as come up over your ankles in case the bike does go over they help to keep your ankles from being totally crushed.
The Bottom Line
As spring blossoms, your gear will help keep you warm and safe. Be sure to prepare for changing climates as well as finding your personal style. AMERiders has plenty of all of the above available for you here. Questions that you do need to ask yourself before you set out on your ride. Do your gloves need to be replaced? How is the tread on your boots? How old is your helmet and how many times has it been dropped? Think about these things and more before you set out on your ride.
~And as always….
~Live Free Ride Hard~
~AMERiders
and
Let AMERiders help you get ready for your Spring Motorcycle Ride with our large selection of Motorcycle gear.
And as always don’t forget to send us your stories, pictures and events for posting to GALLERY.AMERIDERS @ GMAIL.COM and we will post them for you. The more people that know about your event the better and we are offering free advertising. We would also love to hear about your rides and love to see those bikes so send those stories and pictures.
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