MOTORCYCLES

Here are some common sense tips for what to wear while you are out tearing it up on your brand new motorbike.

First off, and I know this is old but it always bears repeating, get a helmet. Which would you rather have to do; hammer a few well earned dents out of your bike, or have the doctor hammer a few dents out of your skull? Besides, with all the technological advances in helmet engineering, you might actually look pretty cool with one on your noggin. Oh yeah, and make sure it fits snugly on your head.

Next, you will want to invest in clothing that will protect the rest of your body. With motorcycling, falling is inevitable. Get a jacket, pants, boots and gloves that will be sturdy enough to take a beating, but will still allow your body to stay cool and breathe well. It can get a little toasty under all that leather. Keep in mind also that you do not want your clothing to inhibit the operation of your machine, so make sure that the stuff you get fits well. Oh yeah, and fit is more important than style, ok?

Protective gear has come a long way, offering benefits like waterproofing, special kevlar composites and padding to protect those, um…sensitive areas. Be willing to invest in a quality set of protective gear and you won’t regret the extra money spent. Next we need to talk about boots.

Boots come in an amazingly broad variety, and they are an absolute must for riding a motorcycle. Forget about wearing anything else unless you really aren’t concerned about protecting your feet, ankles, and lower calf. Remember that comfort and fit are important, just as much as the new, fancy kevlar lining and neat zippers and buckles are. The boots should be fairly stiff, but only pro racers need boots that are completely rigid.

There are plenty of other handy tools and add ons that you can get for your bike. Be sensible and choose the ones that would be best for the kind of riding that you will be doing. Do your homework and go for quality.

After you have fitted yourself with the latest in motorcycle apparel, including a more than just decent pair of boots, the next thing to equip yourself with is a riding buddy. Never go riding alone, because even if you have the fancy global positioning instrumentation installed, with the emergency radio built into your well fitting helmet, it will be kind of hard to operate any of that stuff if your neck is broken and you can’t move or speak. Riding buddy…if you don’t have one, get one!

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Motorcycle helmet is used as a protective gear for the head to avoid severe injuries brought about by accidents. In some countries, wearing helmet is comparable to wearing seatbelts, regulated as part of the street ordinances as general safety measure. But of course, any promulgation imposed is debatable and others would drop the matter in every philosophical manner they can give reason against its use.

Looking at the physical make-up of motorcycles will not guarantee pure salvation in every imaginable trauma. When used, it can only lessen the severity. To have an understanding on its function it is important to know how fatal head injuries can disable a person in one incident. When it comes to serious matters like heavy impact, a helmet is nothing. The most important thing about skull fractures is to avoid the fragments from embedding the sensitive tissues of the brain, until then, most head injuries are not as fatal as expected. Basically, a full-blown impact on head can lead to permanent malfunctioning of the body system.

Another kind of fatal head injury caused by motorcycle accident is when the brain is stirred while there is no open wound in the head. In this case the brain bumps the side of the skull leading to small yet deadly movements and rotation enough to cause internal bleeding inside. The use of properly designed motorcycle helmet can help absorb the shock in the head after it sinks to its protective cushions. It must not be too soft to let the head crush through its hard interior walls at once. After that, the hard plastic will yield without control. Helmet design considerations are all about the tolerable impact the head can handle, which the soft linings provide as protection, and the exterior protection from punctures.

Types of motorcycle helmets for effective use come in different appearance:

FULL FACE - Covers the full area of the back of the head, chin but has a shield made of plastic in the eye area for visibility. It is usually ventilated though some still consider it warmer and lacking flow of air inside. It tends to isolate a rider and restrain hearing because of full head coverage.

OPEN FACE - Almost the same as the full face design except it has no chin cover, which means it has low protection for the face. It has a plastic shield open to particles during a ride. It can cause injuries out of trapped small debris caught on speed. Thus, it is advisable to wear riding goggles as additional protection for the eyes.

Motorcycle helmet may not give ultimate protection but it saved a lot of lives during minor injuries.

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When I was in the automotive industry I saw the extension of car loans going into 54, then 60, then 72 months and with the extension of the loan installments came the inevitable negative equity. In general the longer the term you finance for the more likely you are to find yourself “upside down”. The motorcycle industry is no stranger to this as well and recently with the motorcycle finance companies offering loans that extend payments out as far as 72 months the problem is just getting worse. This is even more common with motorcycles that depreciate rapidly.

Just as with automotive loans when you extend the payments out over more than three years you begin to put yourself in a situation where your debt exceeds the value of your motorcycle. This is even more true if you do not put money down or even worse if you trade in a bike that you still owe on.

But how does this happen and what can be done to prevent it?

To begin with you need to look at the way the lender determines the interest. Some lenders use the rule of 78 in which you will be paying almost all interest at the beginning of the loan and then you have the other more preferable method of simple interest.

With an installment plan set up on a rule of 78 interest calculation you will be paying almost pure interest for the first couple of years and therefore will have virtually nothing in the way of equity. When you consider that statistically the average motorcycle owner trades bikes more often than every two years you can begin to see how this can be a problem.

The interest computation of choice is simple interest; as a matter of fact I personally would accept no other option. The way simple interest works is that it is calculated on the balance of the loan and if you keep the length of the loan at a reasonable time frame you will not run into the negative equity problem. If you extend the payments out over more than four years you will still get yourself in trouble just as you will if you skip payments.

If you have found yourself in a negative equity or upside down situation with your motorcycle don’t feel like there is no way out. A lot of people just give up and allow their bike to be repossessed and sold off at auction which just exacerbates their problem, now you owe money on a bike that you don’t have and can’t ride!

To avoid being caught in the “upside down” predicament on your motorcycle always look for a lender that will give you a simple interest loan on your bike. Secondly, always put some money down upfront to reduce the payments and the terms. Finally, never finance your motorcycle purchase over more than three years.

Gregg Hall is a consultant for online and offline businesses and lives in Navarre Florida. Get reviews on motorcycle gear and accessories at http://www.motorcyclegearandaccessories.com

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