Motorcycle Journal

We recently asked our forum members for some support to help out with some of the costs associated with running our site. In the form of subscription, our friends came through and really helped us out. To thank them we had a draw for all those that subscribed. The grand prize was a $200 gift certificate to NewEnough.com. We also had four secondary prizes of $20 in NewEnough.com gift certificates.

Here is the actual draw. Thanks for your support.

-Trapper

Last year, my home town of Moncton, New Brunswick was host to the Atlantic Canadian HOG rally. Lots of great bikes and beautiful pieces of art.

There were some classics….

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Ok, I know the old saying “it is just like riding a bike”. Well let me point out that riding a motorcycle is not just like riding a bike. You just don’t hop on and go. You have to constantly ride and keep proficient in order to keep your skills up.

Too many times we see people who post on message boards that they “used to” ride about ten years ago and that they are jumping into it again with a C90, a VTX1800, a ‘Busa, a C50, a M50, or even a S40. The point I am trying to make here is not about the size of the bike, it is about staying proficient.

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There was a recent thread in our forum about the things we motorcyclists enjoy when it comes to the culture and environment of motorcycling. Here are a few, written by Motorcycle-Journal.com forum members:

Aside from the feeling of riding, and the gas milage, i gotta say the thing i like most is the feeling of belonging to a group. - dichotomous

Kids are my one of my favorites. Just seems when I’m crusing some of the back roads, when there’s kids in the front lawn, they love waving and shouting (with big grins on their faces) at me and whomever I may be riding with. - Stasy

I like the individual freedom of being out there and not having to be going from point A to point B. - drgibson

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How can any youngster with only a couple of years driving experience learn to ride a high powered sport bike? How can their reaction time be sufficient at high speeds to combat their lack of recognition of traffic patterns? You wouldn’t let your six year old play with a loaded hand gun, then why do we allow a twenty year old to drive a high powered sport bike? If you are able to ride a motorcycle on a closed circuit at over 100 mph, do you think you can ride the same machine on I-294 in Chicago at the same speed? Can you safely do it even at the posted speed limit with two dozen vehicles in your safety buffer? (more…)

Taking off from South Eastern New Brunswick, I merge onto the Trans Canada highway beside a guy in and Audi TT convertible; I can’t help feeling “This is going to be a great long weekend!” My wife and kids are at Girl Guide Camp and I’ve got the green light to spend the next three days with nothing but the clothes on my back, the supplies in my top case and two small saddle bags, and my 800 cc Suzuki Marauder. (more…)

February, soon it’ll be Spring. With this marvelous season comes warm weather, nice flowers, shorter skirts and comforting sun. For myself however, it also means a new motorcycle season. Motorcycles bring a sense of freedom, of peace. Whenever I’m on my motorcycle, my mind is solely on the current moment, the “here and now”, for two main reasons–to appreciate the moment in itself but also as a means of protection. No one can deny the fact that a motorcyclist is less protected on his motorbike than the automobile driver behind the wheel of his car, surrounded by a metal cage (for motorcyclists, drivers are often referred to ‘cagers’ for that reason). The motorcyclist thus has to be more conscious of what is happening around him, and not just in front of him. (more…)

It’s March 1994, and I’ve decided that I’m going to buy a motorcycle. The thought has been brewing in my adolescent head for several years, but funding shortfalls and parental units had previously placed restrictions on such things. There’s no stopping me now, though. The classic mystique and excitement of two-wheeled motivation is in me for good. (more…)

The single most important piece of protective gear you can wear is a helmet certified to meet DOT standards. This was emphasized in the University of Southern California (USC) researcher Harry Hurt’s federally funded study, “Motorcycle Accident Cause Factors and Identification of Countermeasures,” often called the Hurt Report, after its researcher Harry Hurt. This and other research has established that helmets save lives by reducing head injuries. The research also disproves helmet myths such as “helmets break necks, block vision, impair hearing, cause overheating, etc.” Informed riders wear helmets by deliberate choice every time they ride. (more…)

The motorcycle industry has seen huge growth in the last couple of years thanks to television bike building shows, the price of fuel and the aging demographic. But is this growth, primarily in the Cruiser market, a product of hype or functionality? I, personally, fell in to “the trap” and bought my first motorcycle in the summer of 2004. Because the shows on television and “the Harley allure”, I, too, chose a cruiser, a Suzuki Marauder 800. Did I make the right choice? I’m not sure. Do I regret it? Not on your life! (more…)