Basic Motorcycle Gear

Riding a motorcycle on or off-road is not an addiction, it is a way of life. Anyone that rides does it for the love of it. There is no other way to experience the freedom and the camaraderie that comes with riding. Riding also means that an understanding of basic motorcycle gear is no longer something that you have to think about. You already know.

Unlike a car, the design of a motorcycle offers no protection to their rider. There are no seat belts or air bags in case of a collision, no reinforced framework to help lessen the impact. These are the things that the basic motorcycle gear is designed to do. Protect the rider in the best ways that it can to lessen these shortcomings during an accident.

When the news broadcasts an accident involving a motorcycle, we all hold our breath and wait. There are not many adults that do not understand the seriousness of these events. Almost instinctively, we wonder if they had their helmet on. That is because the motorcycle helmet is the most well-know piece of safety equipment for riding.

There are several other pieces of equipment for the rider that are equally as important although they may not always be thought of as safety equipment.

1. Motorcycle helmet

During an accident, the helmet is designed to protect the riders head. The idea is to keep the impact to a minimum by absorbing the major parts of the shock received by the landing. This is the single piece of safety gear that has been credited with saving lives.

Are We Becoming Scooter Nation?

While I am working here and selling Honda Ruckus Parts and living in Southern California, I can't help but notice one thing. I have started to see more and more scooters on the road. It's not just Ruckus, Zuma, or their Chinese counterparts, but I have seen or have been asked about parts more and more for Vespas, C3s, and a multitude of other scooters. Not only that, but I have seen an increase in the output by manufacturers for scooter parts, not just Ruckus parts, and higher demand from the popular forums as well. There are reasons we are seeing this, one is very obvious, one is based on "science," while the other isn't as obvious or as impactful to the average person.

The obvious reason is the ever rising cost of fuel. While it does affect scooter riders, too, it doesn't take as big a hit in the wallet as it does the person driving a car every day to work. Many car drivers are looking towards lowering their fuel costs to keep the same level of living as they had prior to $4+ per gallon gas. On usually less than 2 gallons of gas, you can fuel a scooter for nearly a week of riding or more, depending on how you ride. I know many guys with GY6 swaps who have gone a couple of weeks of steady city riding without filling up again. While cars are getting more fuel efficient, they still have fuel tanks larger than 10 gallons. That $5 you spend on gas goes much further on your scooter than it does in a car.