Online Shopping for Motorcycle Accessories

When shopping for a certain item and material, the way to do it is to shop like a woman. Who else knows how to shop till they drop but women, right? Isn’t it that husbands, partners, spouses and lovers often complain about the amount of time and the energy given to shopping by their women even for just one item they need?

But who else gets the most of their budget, and takes home the item of high grade quality at the least price possible? Women. Women are known to have the intuition for great sales and wonderful bargains just because they give time and effort in looking for the item at the best price.

Same thing with motorcycles. When you need to buy performance motorcycle parts accessories, we know that our local motorcycle parts store is a great place to begin with. Aside from being near our home, our familiarity with our local store will help reduce the time it takes to choose the accessory most suitable to our requirement.

However, as any woman would tell you, your local store may not have the item you need, or it may only have a limited number of stock items on hand. And worse of all, you might just be getting more than you bargained for just because you want the easy way out of shopping.

So the next step would be to go out and hop to stores that offer performance motorcycle parts accessories. Or you could try doing it online.

Shopping for performance motorcycle parts accessories online is the most ideal means of making sure you get the best selection and the best possible prices, all in the comforts of your home or office. You don’t need to use fuel and get stuck in traffic just because you need to have the item for your precious motorcycle. With so many vendors in the wide world of the internet, from here to Timbuktu, chances are, you’ll be able to find exactly what you’re looking for in no time. Plus, internet retailers often ship to any location in the world. You just have to pay extra charges for the shipment costs. No worries. It’s better than endure the traffic and pollution, and the migraine you’re sure to have when you do it on foot and in every store you could find.

And just like a woman, you’ll be able to shop till you drop; the only difference is you’re doing it all over the state, country, and even the world- all in the comforts of your home or office.

And just like a woman, you’ll definitely end up finding performance motorcycle parts accessories online that you never even knew was available in the market. There are a lot of items in the internet if you just know where to look. With the vast access of the internet, you’ll be able to get a wide range of selection from which to choose from with just a click of your fingers.

Granny’s Mettle is a 30-something, professional web content writer. She has created various web content on a diverse range of topics, which includes digital printing topics, medical news, as well as legal issues. Her articles are composed of reviews, suggestions, tips and more for the printing and designing industry.

Her thoughts on writing: “Writing gives me pleasure… pleasure and excitement that you have created something to share with others. And with the wide world of the Internet, it gives me great satisfaction that my articles reach more people in the quickest time you could imagine.”

On her spare time, she loves to stay at home, reading books on just about any topic she fancies, cooking a great meal, and taking care of her husband and kids.

For comments and inquiries about the article visit http://www.motorcyclepartsbin.com

Mountain Bike Helmet - The Headlines About Helmets!

If there is one vital piece of mountain biking equipment, it is your mountain bike helmet. The purchase of your helmet should be at least as important as buying your bike. Whether in the city or off-road, you have no business being on a bike, without a mountain bike helmet.

Although accidents cannot be eliminated, wearing a helmet will reduce the risk and severity of a head injury by up to 88 percent.

It is therefore worth spending as much as you can afford on the best mountain bike helmet. Your life may depend on it! It is an investment in your safety, and will be used for a long time.

If you are a novice rider, buy your helmet from a store that specialize in biking equipment. Ask a knowledgeable sales person to advise you. A quality mountain bike helmet is of little use, if it isn’t fitted properly.

The helmet should be placed evenly on your head, and rest about 1″ or 2.5cm above your eyebrows. Ensure that the helmet doesn’t tip forward or backward, but rests straight on your head.

Your mountain bike helmet should fit snugly. Utilize the different foam pads inside the helmet to get the tightest and most comfortable fit. Pull the chinstrap as tight as possible, and adjust the side straps so that they rest just below the ears. The chinstrap should never be on the point of the chin, but moved back.

The helmet should pull down when you open your mouth wide, although there should be just about enough room to allow you to eat. If not, tighten the chinstrap. Make sure that both buckles are on the jaw and under the ear.

The mountain bike helmet should not feel loose, or move more than 1″ or 2.5cm in any direction when you shake your head from side to side. If it does slip, check and adjust the foam pads or side straps. If you physically move the helmet, the skin on your forehead will move with it, if it is a proper fit.

The airflow over the head is the means of ventilation in a mountain bike helmet. Larger side vents also improve ventilation. There is usually a sweat band on the inside of the helmet to control sweat, and ensure comfort.

Manufacturers are constantly striving to design lighter, better ventilated mountain bike helmets. This may compromise reinforcement, and affect safety. Be sure to look for a sticker that states that the helmet meets the necessary safety standards.

The best indication of this is the CPSC logo, or in Europe the CE logo, or alternatively SNELL certification. Helmets with the ANSI standard are not recommended.

Never wear a mountain bike helmet that has been in a crash. Even if the damage is not visible, you should always replace it with a new helmet.

One example of exceptional mountain bike helmets, is the Giro range. Their E2 is sleek, light, and comfortable. The unique Wind Tunnel Ventilation system, offers all the channels and vents you need for a cool ride.

The Giro Rib Cage, and in-mold technology ensures superb reinforcement. The snazzy Point of View Visor features an inventive internal clutch mechanism. Adjustment is secure. You won’t be distracted by irritating rattling on the trail.

Giro also offers an infant mountain bike helmet, the ME2. Kids adore them! The strap guides are simple, and the buckle won’t bite young skin. The helmet features a microshell with a built in bug net.

Young riders love looking and feeling cool with Flume, the youth version of the mountain bike helmet. They can choose between Lavender Space Girl, Yellow/Black Flames, or Silver/Blue Flames.

Take your time when fitting a mountain bike helmet. It may take 20 - 30 minutes to get the correct helmet fit. Examine all the different types and styles. Experiment with pad and strap positions.

You will find that mountain bike helmet that was made for you, that will hug your head snugly, and will enable you to tackle any trail with confidence and a feeling of security.

For more information visit Best-Mountain-Biking.com

Rika Susan of Article-Alert.com researches, writes, and publishes full-time on the Web. Copyright of this article: 2006 Rika Susan. This article may be reprinted if the resource box and hyperlinks are left intact.

How To Make Your Own Vintage Motor Cycle & Automotive Spare Parts

Vintage Car & Motorcycle restoration enthusiasts all share
one thing in common…

The difficulty in obtaining obsolete spare parts.

How many times have you tried to find a special part for your
restoration project, only to find that it’s unobtainable.

For the home restorer on a tight budget, it is actually possible to put money back into your own pocket… real savings can be made by learning a few simple skills. Lets face it, if you are rebuilding or restoring old vintage vehicles then you most likely already have many practical skills & abilities.

You could expand on your valuable practical skills even more.

Take for instance the dozens of mechanical components that need
to be rebuild/reconditioned… professional re-builders will charge you quite a lot of money for reconditioning parts, which to all intents & purposes could be carried out in the home workshop at a substantially reduced cost.

You may already have the luxury of a lathe, milling machine and
a collection of other associated machines in your workshop.

Cast your mind outside the square for a moment… if you’re unable to produce a part by machining parts from a solid billet,
then all you need to do is to build a simple gas fired furnace,
fabricate some tools, mould boxes, and get hold of some green sand to make your sand moulds, learn some new skills, and you’ll be able to melt & pour your own special aluminium & bronze parts.

Then you will be able to machine them in your lathe etc, to produce low cost high quality spare parts… it is possible… many people have been doing this for along time.

Why don’t you join this select band of people who’ve discovered that casting your own metal parts is not that difficult, once you have learnt the basic techniques of the craft.

Once your mini foundry system is up and running, you’ll wonder why the heck you didn’t discover metal casting years ago.

You can read & learn more about hobby metal casting by visiting:
http://www.myhomefoundry.com Where you can download free ebooks, access free foundry directory info, and have a lot of fun learning new skills to add to your practical restoration skills.

Learning about metal casting could open up a whole new dimension
& opportunities for you in your home workshop. But you wont know
just how much until you take the step to learn.
Why not take that step today?

Written by: Col Croucher
Ebook Author and
Administrator of:
http://www.myhomefoundry.com
Australia

New Style New Riders

Verucci has introduced their lasted 150cc scooter as the Viper 150 Turbo SE. With a look of a touring motorcycle like a Honda Goldwing the Viper Turbo will catch your and fool you as not believing this could be a scooter. With speed of 65mph that has you keeping up with all traffic plus the benefits of 60 to 80mpg is a real gas savings that you can bank on. Ridding scooters has become a way of life for many people being squeezed with the soaring gas prices since hurricane Katrina.

With more riders every year buying scooters it’s not just for one gender. More and more women are picking up on the scooter craze for fun and saving gas. Replacing the second car for running errands has become a main stay for women. A big reason for this is you sit on a scooter rather than straddle like a motorcycle. With TV ads using scooters to sell their wares with a pink scooter ridden by a pretty girl this just sets in motion the emotions needed for a scooter purchase. With a pink scooter you can really make an impression and some sites cater just to the female scooter rider.

If you are consider a scooter purchase there are some choices for you with the newer styles being added late in 2005. The very popular Retro styles and the 150cc scooters seem to lead the pack in terms of sales. The Euro style holds its own always with the most sales. The 150cc scooters are picking up once consumers realized the benefits of the added power for speed you get with a larger scooter.

Michael Milstead owner of http://scootertronics.com has seen scooter sales rise in the wake of soaring gas prices and more women riders taking to the streets.

The Art of Motorcycle Obstacle Avoidence

We all assume a certain level of risk when we ride our motorcycles. Our main concern is usually the 4000 pound SUV crossing in-front of us at an intersection. The driver oblivious to our existence as they chat on their cell phone. That being said, another risk motorcyclists encounter is the Road Hazard. By road hazard I mean, obstacles such as, speed bumps, potholes, debris. Debris such as gravel, solid objects that have fallen off the construction truck in front of you. If that was not enough, consider road kill, now add in a freaked out deer or a kamakazi squirrel or rabbit. It makes you wonder why we ride at all. But that is another topic I will address relating to the start of it all, the book “Zen and the art of Motorcycle Maintenance”. But I digress.

Alright, having given you all the obstacle hazards you WILL encounter on your ride, how do you effectively prepare and react to such hazards. Let me take you back to school for a second and refresh you on the Motorcycle Safety Foundation’s SEE method. What is see again? Search, Evaluate, Execute. If you use the searching and evaluating effectively this can help you avoid the obstacles mentioned above. Ok, class is over. Now for some real world tips.

* Practice your quick-reaction counter steering. How? Well you can go to a vacant parking lot and place some coke cans out and as you get close, practice your quick obstacle avoidence countersteer to swerve around the object without braking. The idea being that the bike is agile and can avoid an object. The alternative is to apply full-braking power and hope physics is on your side. I also will you man-hole covers for this practice. Of course in very light traffic. Keeps you fresh.

* Do not tail gate the cager in front of you. I just learned this last week. There was a 2 by 4 in the road, I was too up the guys butt in front of me for me to effectively see the board in time and hit it. All turned out ok for me, but if it were something larger or roadkill, it might have resulted in an accident. Not good. If you don’t have to run over it don’t. Once I hit a small piece of tin, like a flattened soda can, well all this did was kick up and scratch up my fender. Still not good. The zen of riding was kicked in so much, I forgot to look for obstacles.

* Now if you have time to react and you are unable to avoid the object, be sure to:

* slow as much as time and traffic will permit.

* approach the obstacle at a 90 degree angle. Most commonly when you encounter railroad tracks that are offset or uneven pavement.

* rise slightly off the seat and shift your weight rearward, ease off of the throttle. Why? you do not want power applied to the rear wheel when it encounters the object. Once you have the bike stable and free of the obstacle, resume seated, If it was a hard impact you should pull over and check for damage.

* For handling live critter avoidence. If you see the critter and have time to slow down, do so. Be mindful of traffic behind you. With dogs, it is best to slow, then if the dog is making a b-line for you, increase throttle and wave bye bye to bruno. For deer, this is the worse case, they are skittish giant rats with antlers — most of them. It is best to slow as much as possible until you are past. There are several aftermarket deer warning devices you could install. I have one, it makes a high-tone like a dog whistle. Does it work? dunno, all I do know is that it is annoying. Thank God for the optional on/off switch. Funny thing is, I installed this on my cruiser instead of the ZZR1200.

* Here is a somewhat related obstacle avoidance tip, water on the painted road symbols spells disaster. I avoid these things at all cost. I also am mindful of intersections. When it rains this hits all of the dropped oil from the cars and makes for a real slick surface. So be mindful of where you put your foot down and place your tires. It is best to stay in the tire tracks to avoid the Valdez like spills. Most motorcyclists will drop there bikes in these situations. For me I went to put my foot down to park, and I encountered some cherry seeds from the nearby tree, well out went my foot, and down goes the 500 pound bike and my ego.

In conclusion, I hoped to have provided some useful tips on basic obstacle avoidence. I strongly believe it is not the number of years that you have ridden a motorcycle, it is your experience and skillful use of the machine that really matter.

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

Do You Ride Like A Duck?

If you’re looking for a good time riding on gravel roads there are a few strategies that can make your experience a whole lot more fun! Always remember to drive in one gear lower than you normally would, as this allows for minor adjustments in your throttle. It will also take over some of the braking duties without your need to change gears all the time. Remember to stay smooth and fluid with your motions. This is especially important when driving on gravel, dirt and uneven roads. If you stand up on your pegs a lot, remember to use your legs as shock absorbers as this will give you the added advantage of lowering the center of gravity directly to the pegs instead of your seat. Don’t paddle walk your bike as this throws it back and forth, and undermines any benefits gained from centrifugal force established through forward motion.

A simple law of science says when a body is in motion it tends to stay in motion. As long as you stay on the throttle your bike will stay up. If you do a bit of a hill climbing, remember to lean forward. This works especially well when you’re standing on the pegs. When going downhill shift your weight backwards towards the rear of the bike.

Remember to shift your body weight when rounding curves as this will help you utilize far more subtle adjustments to your steering. Overall you are going to get a more stable feeling when you apply subtle, smooth adjustments in steering. For your first gravel drive, find a smooth road and you will have more confidence in your skills. Remember there are always roads under construction and using a bit of common sense goes a long way when it comes to gravel road driving!

By Terry Price- Remember to visit http://www.motorcycle-atv-exhaust.com/articles_2.html for other fun articles on motorcycles , motorcycle exhaust, and other performance enhancement products. You will love what White Brothers put into their ATV exhaust systems! http://www.motorcycle-atv-exhaust.com/131-white-brothers-atv-exhaust.html .

Mountain Biking – Great Exercise and Fun

Mountain biking is a great way to explore the great outdoors, exercising and having fun. Racing down a mountainside is exhilarating; however, it can also be dangerous. Although it is consider a dangerous sport, if done with utmost caution, mountain biking can be enjoyed by the whole family.

As with any outdoor sport, selecting the right equipment and an understanding of the sport will be the key to a great adventure.

Styles of Mountain Biking

Mountain biking can be categorized into three different styles. There is downhill, free riding, and cross-country. Although the styles are similar in some respect, they all require different skills. The style you select will determine the type of bike.

Mountain Biking Locations

Typically, this sport is known as biking on an unpaved surface. Most regions have areas specifically designed for this grand sport. State and federal parks are a good place to mountain bike. However, you should check with your local parks to get the routes and other regulations or rules they may have. In addition, if you venture off to some state or federal land or any wilderness type area, it is best to know about the surroundings should there be any unexpected accidents.

There are also groups that have mountain bike rides and competitions. You could search the internet or local newspaper to see what is available in your area. There may be groups for the advanced rider as well as the novice.

Criteria to be a Great Mountain Biker

A prerequisite for a great mountain biker is endurance and stamina. In addition, it takes discipline to practice and the ambition to succeed and conquer the course. A novice mountain biker will have to overcome the bumps and bruises from falling of the bike. Like all sports, it takes practice and the constitution to keep trying.

Selecting Your Bike

Selecting your bike is a personal choice and contingent on the type of riding you will do. Bikes come in all different styles, shapes, and prices, therefore selecting the perfect one for you can be difficult. Again, do some internet research or venture out to do some comparison-shopping before you get ready to make a purchase. Ask to try out a bike before you buy. A good mountain biker becomes one with his or her bike. Check for comfort, fit, and how it is geared, all these factors need to be considered.

Staying Safe

As mentioned earlier, mountain bike riding on unpaved roads can be hazardous. The typical safety gear is a helmet, knee and elbow pads. You should also consider goggles if riding in a very dense wooded area or if following a group of bikers. Safety should be your top priority and not taken lightly when riding no matter what the terrain.

For more information about mountain biking and bikes, visit Mountain Bike

I want those TIRES

Tires are important. In fact, your choice of tires can affect comfort, handling, safety and more.

There are two kinds of tire construction. The first is the bias-ply and the other is called the radial. Bias-ply construction is generally used by cruisers. On the other hand, radial construction is used by sport bikes. You can easily distinguish one construction from the other for bias-ply has round profile while radial has a flatter and shorter version.

Bias-ply uses a carcass that is made up of overlapping layers of nylon or rayon cords. The flexing action produces heat which contributes to a good grip. The drawback of this construction is that it reduces performance and hastens tire wear because too much heat can be generated.

Radial tire construction acquired its name because its plies are running at a 90-degree angle. As oppose to the bias-ply, this construction reduces heat generation. As a result, tires are cooler and not susceptible to hastened tire wear. The drawback though is that the sidewalls can effortlessly be flexed. Thus, the sidewalls are given a shorter profile.

Tire pressure really matters to the tires. Therefore, it has to be checked regularly.

Aside from tire construction, we must also be knowledgeable about tire wear in relation to choosing tires. Softer compounds are good in producing more traction however, they wear out quickly. Harder compounds have fast wear but they may not cause a good grip.

Moreover, OEM or aftermarket motorcycle parts manufacturers and distributors must consider dealing with effective grip coupled with longer mileage when it comes to tires. This is of course to prolong the life of motorcycle tires.
One factor that can affect tire wear is the rider’s riding style. Aggressive riders usually have their front tire to wear out faster than the rear. Why is this so? This is because tires tend to brake late using mostly the front brake. In contrast, cruiser riders, normally wear out the rear tire first. This is because they have more weight at the rear portion of the bike.

To know when to change your tires, you can perform the ‘penny test’. Simply put a penny into a tire groove with its head pointing down. You have to change your tire when you can see the top of the head of the person in the coin. It can be an hint that the tread depth has already reached 1/32 of an inch.

Please visit Aftermarket Motorcycle Parts site at www.aftermarketmotorcyclepartsnow.com/AftermarketMotorcycleParts.html for comments and inquiries regarding this article.

It’s One Thing for People to Buy Your Product or Service, but It’s Another for Them to Tattoo Your

William Harley and Arthur Davidson, both in their early twenties, built their first motorcycle in 1903. During their first year, the company’s entire output was only 1 motorbike; however, by 1910, the company had sold 3,200. Movies such as Easy Rider made Harleys a cultural icon and soon the company attracted people who loved its bad-boy mystique, powerfulness, rumbling voice, distinctive roar, and toughness. It sounded like nothing else on the road, and even Elvis Presley and Steve McQueen longed to ride one.

The Harley-Davidson Motor Company has had its ups and downs, and at times, the downs seemed as if they would end in bankruptcy. In the sixties, Honda, Kawasaki, and Yamaha invaded the American market, and when sales at Harley-Davidson dropped drastically due to decreasing quality and increasing competition, the company began to look for buyers and was finally sold. However, the new owners of Harley Davidson knew little about how to restore profitability. The quality became so bad that dealers had to place cardboard under bikes in the showroom to absorb the oil leaking.

Daniel Gross, in Forbes Greatest Business Stories of all Times, recounts how in 1981, with the aid of Citibank, a team of former Harley-Davidson executives began negotiations to reacquire the company and rescue it from bankruptcy. Among these executives was William Davidson, the grandson of the founder Arthur Davidson. In a classic leveraged buyout, they pooled $1 million in equity and borrowed $80 million from a consortium of banks lead by Citibank.

Harley’s rescue team of loyal executives knew that the Japanese motorbike manufacturers were far ahead in regard to quality management, and they made a bold decision to tour a nearby Honda plant. Paradoxically, the Japanese had learned Total Quality Management from the Americans, Edwards Deming and Joseph Juran. The new business concept outlined by these two pioneers was a new management approach that, interestingly enough, had been rejected by American manufacturers. As a result, they offered this approach to Japanese manufactures that were eager to learn and implement it. Therefore, soon after their tour of the Honda plant, the Harley Davidson Motor Company decided to put into practice this originally rejected approach.

After implementing just-in-time inventory (JIT) and employee involvement, costs at Harley had dropped significantly; this meant that the company only needed to sell 35,000 bikes instead of 53,000 in order to break even. Their lobbying at Washington also helped, and import tariffs were raised temporarily from 4 to 40 percent on Japanese bikes. This extra breathing space was something that the U.S. motorbike company desperately needed for its recovery.

The combination of visiting a Japanese motorbike manufacturing plant and lobbying in Washington for import tariffs was a daring move on behalf of Harley’s executives in their attempt to bring back profitability and growth to the company. Another important strategic move was the company’s unique marketing and branding campaigns. Studies showed that about 75 % of Harley customers made repeat purchases, and executives quickly recognized a pattern that refocused the company’s overall strategy. Simply put, they needed to find a way to appeal to the extraordinary loyalty of customers, which they found in creating a community that valued the experience of riding a Harley more than the product itself.

The sponsorship of a “Harley Owners’ Group” has been one of the most creative and innovative strategies that has helped create the experience of this product. Without realizing it, Harley executives had pioneered a new paradigm that would be increasingly embraced by other industries in their quest to increase profitability by converting their product into an experience. The company started to organize rallies to strengthen the relationship between its members, dealers, and employees, while also promoting the Harley experience to potential customers. The Harley Owners’ Groups became immensely popular; it allowed motorcycle owners to feel as if they belonged to one big family. In 1987, there were 73,000 registered members, and Harley now boasts to have no less than 450,000 members.

In 1983, the company launched a marketing campaign called SuperRide, which authorized over 600 dealerships to invite people to test-drive Harleys. Over 40,000 potential new customers accepted the invitation, and from then on, many customers were not just buying a motorcycle when they bought a Harley; instead, they were buying “the Harley Experience.”

Harley-Davidson offered its customers a free one-year membership to a local riding group, motorcycle publications, private receptions at motorcycle events, insurance, emergency roadside service, rental arrangements on vacation, and a host of other member benefits. Branding the experience, not just the product, has allowed the company to expand how it captures value, including a line of clothing, a parts and accessories business, and Harley-Davidson Visa card.

If you were to scan the list of companies that delivered the greatest returns on investment during the 1990s, you would discover Harley-Davidson. Only a few companies have been successful in inventing entirely new business models, or profoundly reinventing existing ones. Harley-Davidson went from supplying motorcycles to antisocial raiders to selling a lifestyle to the aging bad boy wannabes caught in their midlife crises. Traditionally, Harley-Davidson bike owners came from the working and middle classes, but as quality and prices of the bad-boy-bikes rose, and with energetic marketing, the company soon attracted a different class of buyers—currently one third of Harley buyers are professionals or managers, and 60% are college graduates. The new customer segments of Harley are the Rolex Riders or the Rich Urban Bikers. Hell’s Angels do not run in the same group anymore. Now there are groups of accountants, lawyers and doctors. Women also account for a significant portion of the new riders, and there are women-only riders clubs spreading all over the globe.

The future looks bright for the U.S. motorbike company. According to The Economist, overall U.S. sales increased over 20% in 2000, and more than 650,000 new motorcycles were sold in the U.S. in the same year, up from 539,000 the year before. Bike buyers spent an estimated $5.45 billion on new bikes in 2000.

Stay alert and get it early. The new branding paradigm is to sell a lifestyle, a personality and it is also about appealing to emotions of your customers. Increasingly, it will be more and more about creating an experience around the product. Brand managers and executives will need a new set of lenses. The rules have changed as well as the opportunities to maximize profitability and create value in the process. Nonetheless, the majority of companies continue to follow traditional ad campaigns and they seem to ignore the fact that the media has fragmented into hundreds of cable channels, thousands of magazine titles and millions of Internet pages.

Consumers are no longer sitting ducks for commercials; they are looking for new experiences. Whether it is the bad-boy-aura of the Harley riding experience, the exquisite coffee experience in Starbucks cafés, or the active participation in Net communities, more and more companies will need to follow these early new branding pioneers. They will need to look into the dynamics of their relationships with customers and the nature of their interaction. They will need to ask themselves some serious “out-of-the-box” questions if they want to move with the shifting value that is the result of constantly changing market conditions.

Branding has changed and so have marketing and advertising campaigns. New variability, heterogeneity where there was once homogeneity, newly emerging stratifications of wealth, new preferences, and new life styles are all characteristics of the 21st century customer that are here to stay. We better get used to it, at lease until the next paradigm is discovered. Remember, the companies that are creating new wealth are not just getting better; they are becoming different—mind-bogglingly different!

Bibliography:
Barker, Joel. Paradigms. Harper Business, 1993.

Bedbury, Scott. A New Brand World: Eight Principles for Achieving Brand Leadership in the 21st Century, Viking Press, 2002.

Gross, Daniel: Forbes Greatest Business Stories of All Time, John Wiley & Sons, 1997.

Hamel, Gary. “Innovation Now,” in Fast Company
(http://www.fastcompany.com/online/65/innovation.html), December 2002

Kotter, John P., Leading Change, Harvard Business School Press, 1996, pp. 4 – 14.

Teerlink, Rich, and Ozley, Lee: More Than a Motorcycle: The Leadership Journey at Harley-Davidson, Harvard Business School Press, 2000.
Young, James Webb. Technique for Producing Ideas, McGraw-Hill, p. 14.

Josef Schinwald is consultant in Performance Measurement and professor in Business Strategy at the University of Belgrano, Buenos Aires, Argentina, and his didactic material must not be replicated without the given permission to do so. Copyright © 2003-2005 Business Design Innovation. Josef is also owner of ValueQuest, LLC, a e-commerce business, and you can visit his sites at My Motorcycle Leather http://www.my-motorcycle-leather.com and Stylish Wedding Favors http://www.stylish-wedding-favors.com.

Kids Like to Ride Motorcycles Too

Roaring up on a motorcycle has a strong draw for all of us who have adopted the biker lifestyle. This draw often hits our children too. I know that for me my kids love to ride and probably want to do it as much as I do. I love taking them for rides and sharing the experience with them. But there are some additional considerations that have to be taken into account when loading them on the back of your motorcycle.

Protective Clothing
Just like for us, kids have to have protective clothing on. It’s really great that several of the leathers companies have started producing good quality leathers for kids. I always make sure that they are properly dressed. This means that they have long pants (denim or chaps), long sleeves (denim and leather jackets work best), full finger gloves, good sturdy shoes, and a properly fitted D.O.T. helmet. All of these items can be obtained through a multitude of sources on the internet, local bike and leather shops, and at swap meets.

One other piece of protective clothing is a good pair of sunglasses. Recent studies have shown that the earlier children start wearing eye protection while outdoors the better their chances of avoiding major eye health problems later in life.

Damage to the eyes is cumulative, increasing from year to year. The sun’s ultraviolet (UV) radiation can be very harmful to unprotected eyes and almost half of a person’s total lifetime UV radiation exposure occurs before age 18.
Young eyes let more UV rays inside and normally get more exposure because they spend more time outdoors, usually without eye protection. Exposure to sunlight at an early age appears to be a critical factor in the development of eye cancer.
The good news is that high quality children’s sunglasses (kids aged 3-12) are easier to find than ever. Modeled after adult versions, they feature high impact-resistant lenses with sturdy, durable frames and lots of great colors.

Look for polycarbonate plastic lenses since this is the most shatter-resistant. Always make sure to buy sunglasses that block 99% to 100% of both UVA and UVB.

Passenger Comfort
Often the passenger pegs or floorboards are set for a normal height passenger. They are definitely not set for riding around kids. Make sure that you have a good solid support for them to put their feet on. My son uses the highway bars on the back as his foot rests, since they fit just about right. My daughter has now started using the regular floorboards since she’s gotten tall enough to reach them. I’ve talked to people who have gone as far as rigging up adjustable floorboards on their bike to adjust to the height needed by their passenger.

Passenger Rules
Make sure that your kids understand the rules about being a passenger. Make sure they know where they need to be holding on to. Make sure that they understand not to make any sudden movements. Make sure that they know to keep their bottom flat on the seat at all times. These really are the same rules that would apply anytime you carry a passenger, but with kids you have to make sure that you explain them in a way they would understand.

Rider Responsibilities
When you have a kid on the back of your motorcycle you have to be more aware of what they are doing. They may have a tendancy to move more than an adult passenger. They may play games by sticking their hands out in the wind (like we don’t ever do that do we?). I find with my kids that they generally want to talk more than an adult passenger and they get more excited over things they see from the back of the motorcycle.

Be aware that the steady rumble of your motor can have a tendancy to lull passengers to sleep. There’s been more than once that I’ve had passengers fall asleep when riding with me (must be my stellar personality). With adults this usually doesn’t present much of a problem since it’d be harder for them to fall off. With children it’s a completely different situation. Since there is generally more room for them between the rider and the sissy bar, if they do fall asleep, there is a greater chance for them to flop over to one side or another. When they do this they increase their chances of falling of to the side. When you have a kid as a passenger stay alert of this and be prepared to hold them up and stop, if this situation occurs.

Riding with kids can be a very enjoyable experience. But please be aware that with that comes some additional responsibilities.

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Be Safe … Enjoy the Ride

Tools

Jeff Sinason aka “Tools” is a long time motorcycle enthusiats. Being a motorcycle nut, he has run into all kinds of conditions and ridden through them unscathed. He is the owner of http://www.bikerwares.com which is a site dedicated to Enjoying the Ride.