A Compassionate Biker

Accessories for your Harley Davidson

America has a few non-negotiable icons. One of them is the legendary Harley Davidson Motorcycle, the dream machine of every biker in the world. The motorcycle is one of the most popular, desired and revered two wheeled steed in the US. During my short stay in the Texas, US I have come across several ardent bikers who own a harley and spend thousands dollars not only to buy one but to add accessories.

While browsing the internet I found this website that is solely selling harley-davidson accessories at discounted prices. They site is an ideal place to purchase everything that can be added onto your Harley Davidson motorcycle to make it look and feel better and more utilitarian. Things like touring bags can be added to carry stuff on long rides.

The site is user friendly and one can browse by model to find the exact part to fit into the motorcycle. Each model has numerous accessories that fit in as if it were stock equipment. The net result, your motorcycle will look even better and the next time you hit the road on your favorite set of wheels you can be sure to attract several envious and admiring stares.

For a short time they are also offering free shipping on all orders.

Own a Motorcycle? Get great parts here!!!

Motorcycling or biking as it is commonly known is not as simple as buying a two-wheeler off the shop and riding it on the road. It is more like a sub-culture with enthusiasts spending enormous amounts of time and money to customize their toys before riding them on the road. Few of the enthusiasts went one step further and promoted businesses in this area. At one point of time getting the right sport bike exhaust was a challenge. But now thanks to the internet and several websites there are thousands of different motorcycle parts which are easily available. Bike enthusiasts need to just go online order and then customize their wheels. There are special accessories for big brands like Harleys, Sport Bikes, Goldwings etc. The community of riders who ride cruisers and customize them is completely different from those who ride sport bikes. Online communities cater to all the genres of motorcycle enthusiasts.

Online Motorcycle Commuinty

There is something about people who ride motorcycles, they forge friendships very easily. Bikers can talk all day and all night about their favorite rides, motorcycles and communities. Every motorcycle rider has a story. The proliferation of internet has given rise to a unique online motorcycle community which is a virtual meeting place for bikers of all types. The community is not limited to any geographical region, it is global.

This community a one stop shop for information about motorcycles, modifications, parts, rides and everything conceivable about these endearing two-wheeled wonders. It also acts as a platform for motorcycle enthusiasts from across the world to meet and exchange ideas, thoughts and information about technical stuff. There are user-uploaded pictures, videos and stories about biking and motorcycles. This community will sure hold the attention of every biker acorss the world.

Amazing Biker Video

Man on a Bike Performs Stunts While Being Lit on Fire. - Click here for more free videos

Royal Enfield V-Twin

I received this video as an e-mail forward from one of the groups I am a member of. This guy in UK had a dream of building a 700 cc V-Twin motorcycle using two Royal Enfield Bullet engines. He is one of those characters who is not just a dreamer and decided to do it, and the result is this fully functional V-Twin motorcycle engine. Sounds great and I am sure runs smoothly too. I wish Enfield guys will take note of this biker's innovation and try to produce it commercially in India so that Bullet enthusiasts will have something more than the 350 and 500 cc bikes to ride and rave about.

Biker Memories

It has been 8 months since I sat astride a motorcycle and felt the raw power at the end of my palm. Being a biker-by-birth, to be without riding motorcycles for such a long time is something like not living. But then circumstances are such that I have not been able to ride a motorcycle. Do I miss riding my bike, weaving in and out of choc-a-bloc Bangalore traffic? Honking incessently? Riding out on the open but dangerous highways in India? You bet I do and now all that I have are memories of those days when I would take off without a thought or care out into the wilderness to explore the teeming countryside of India.

Now in America, I feel claustrophobic driving a car. Though the roads, speeds and relative comforts are much greater in this country, I miss India and sometimes I wonder if I will ever get back to my country? And after experiencing so much different scenario, like driving on the right side of the road I wonder if I will be able to drive on Indian roads again? Initially adapting to American roads and traffic rules was difficult and now I am comfortable in this scenario and I wonder if I will be able to fit into the chaos and disorder that prevails on Indian roads.

I don't know I will find out only if and when I return to my motherland. Till then all I can do is to remember and feel nostalgic.

Book Review: Into the Den of the Bear and the Lair of the Dragon on a Motorcycle

Epic biker’s odyssey
Into the Den of the Bear and the Lair of the Dragon on a Motorcycle by Werner Bausenhart; Legas, Canada; Price: Rs.900; 203 pp

Cross-country biking is not new to two-wheeler aficionados across the world. Men and mobikes taking off to far-flung destinations is old hat for intrepid and free-spirited souls who wish to explore the world. One such adventurer is Dr. Werner Bausenhart, a former professor at the University of Ottawa, who during the past decade has biked across the Americas and travelled down the west coast of Africa.

“Motorcycle adventure travel is mainly a man-thing, although lately a few women seem to have been bitten by the bug as well. It is a disease without a cure. The symptoms are well known, but not well understood, particularly by the female half of the population. We, the sufferers, need space; no, more than that: we need the vista of wide open spaces. We need adventure as a fish needs water. We need a bit of danger in our lives to add zest to an otherwise prosaic existence,” writes Bausenhart, the author of this travelogue. The ambitious eventful excursion on two wheels took Bausenhart across two of the largest countries in the world — Russia (the eponymous den of the bear) and China (the dragon’s lair). Refreshingly Bausenhart’s thrilling adventure narrated in this book began after his retirement from Ottawa University which he served faithfully for 27 years — proof there’s a lot of life after retirement.

The Russian leg of the 31,686 km journey on a BMW R 100 GS PD began in London and ended in Vladivostok via Moscow, Novosibirsk, Irkutsk, and Khabarocsky, and return was via Beijing, Kashgar, Islamabad, Tehran, Ankara, and Istanbul — an eight month long odyssey.

Liberally peppered with route maps, monochrome photographs and illustrations, this book is an easy and entertaining read. Conversations with a multitude of locals, fellow travellers on the road and policemen and inevitable haggling with border officials provide useful information on local cultures and practices of each country.

“Although the highway to Minsk was excellent, I did not make much time, since at every little town I was stopped by their traffic police, only to admire my motorcycle and to make conversation. This I loved. This was the very purpose of my journey, to meet the locals. In Minsk I was chased by a city cop on a motorcycle for no apparent reason. He pulled me over at a traffic light, and with a smile pointed out at his motorcycle: it was a BMW, the same type and year as mine, but in police livery. The two of us went through an instant ritual of male bonding, a ritual that was to be repeated again and again throughout the trip. After all boys will be boys, no matter what nationality and where they may meet,” writes the author.

Like Bausenhart’s earlier books 8 Around the Americas on a Motorcycle and Africa Against the Clock on a Motorcycle, this comprehensive travel diary would particularly interest the multiplying tribe of bikers — majority of whom entertain ideas of hitting the highways full throttle. A series of vignettes and a tour d’ horizon of societies and cultures en route, mark the meandering jaunt.

Indeed as one pours over lengthy paragraphs, it’s arguable that the unique selling proposition of this travelogue is the valuable advice it contains on required documentation, bike maintenance, road and riding conditions and how they affect the motorcyclist, sea crossings by air/ sea freight and basic security precautions. A concluding appendix of hard data provides details of exact distances between towns, camping sites and most importantly, includes the author’s rating of hotels in which he lodged.

On the down side the book could have done with professional editing, production, and colour — instead of black and white — photographs. Nevertheless for the growing tribe of subcontinental bikers, Bausenhart’s recitation of an epic odyssey is certain to prove inspirational. It demonstrates that anyone with the ability to win friends and influence people can do likewise. All it takes is a bike, a bit of money, and lots of time.

Uno the One-wheeled motorcycle

Bikers across the world are accused of reckless riding and being a hazard to road users, especially in first world countries where speeds are very high. In heavy traffic nations like India, China, motorcycles are considered very dangerous vehicles. This was the reports we heard when motorcycles had two wheels. Now there is this new motocycle named "UNO". The creation of 18-year-old innovator and motorcycle designer Benjamin Gulak, the Uno actually has two wheels but they are set side-by-side, instead of one behind the other as in traditional models. But since the wheels are so close together it can be considered as one entity.

It is simple to ride this electric powered wonder. You lean forward to make it move ahead and lean backward to slow it down. There is a single on/off switch to operate this uni-motorcycle. The Uno was showcased at the 2008 National Motorcycle Show in Toronto and attracted lot of attention. This was the first public appearance of the bright orange and grey Uno.

I am sure it would become very popular in India where space is premium as also economy. Powered by electric motors this wont consume too much petrol and being compact it will fit into the small parking spaces that are available. And it can carry two people too.... at least there is a pillion seat.

Read detailed article here

Interesting quotes about motorcycles, bikers and related topics

It is often stylish to quote famous people while speaking on a subject. Quotes often serve as emphasising statements, nuggets of evidence, evidence, etc. Sometimes quotes are used to lend humour into a conversation or even mock at an individual or a select group of people. But the best use of quotes in my opinion is for inspiration and humour. When one quotes a sentence to inspire a group of people or oneself it serves as a positive fulcrum. In terms of humour quotes play the role of lightening and often defusing a tense situation or they may even add to the merritment of the time.

I am a biker and I have been collecting quotes about motorcycles, bikers, gangs, motorcycle travel, etc since a long time. I just thought I would put them together and publish them on my blog. I have provided the source for attributable quotes, while the authors of others remain unknown.

Quotes by unknown authors:
"While travelling in a car you watch the world like a movie. But on a motorcycle you are the film."
"Roads are for journeys and not for destinations."
"The best alarm clock is sunshine on chrome."
"Bikes are like tigers, they leak oil and mark their territory."
"I don't need shoxs, my ass absorbs the impact."
"When there is a hill to climb, don't think waiting will make it smaller"
"They say... That there are only two kinds of bike racers... those who have crashed... and those who are going to crash."
"I'd rather be riding my motorcycle thinking about God than sitting in church thinking about my motorcycle."
"Four wheels move the body. Two wheels move the soul."
"You start the game with a full pot o’ luck and an empty pot o’ experience... The object is to fill the pot of experience before you empty the pot of luck."
"Never trade the thrills of living for the security of existence."
"A cold hamburger can be reheated quite nicely by strapping it to an exhaust pipe and riding forty miles."
"Sometimes it takes a whole tankful of fuel before you can think straight."
"Keep your bike in good condition: Motorcycle boots are not comfortable for walking."
"Well-trained reflexes are quicker than luck."
"Sometimes the best communication happens when you're on separate bikes."
"When you're riding lead, don't spit."
"Safety is a cheap and effective insurance policy."
"Never ride faster than your guardian angel can fly."
"If you ride like there's no tomorrow, there won't be."
"If you drink and ride, you are sure to go to hell."
"If you really want to know what’s going on, watch what’s happening at least five [vehicles] ahead."
"A friend is someone who’ll get out of bed at 2 am to drive his pickup to the middle of nowhere to get you when you’re broken down."
"If you want to get somewhere before sundown, you can’t stop at every tavern."
"A good long ride can clear your mind, restore your faith, and use up a lot of fuel."
"Everyone crashes. Some get back on. Some don't. Some can't."
"Respect the person who has seen the dark side of motorcycling and lived."

Quotes by famous personalities
"Faster, faster, faster, until the thrill of speed overcomes the fear of death..." Hunter Thompson, author of "Hells Angels, A strange and deadly saga".

"There are only three sports: mountain climbing, bull fighting, and motor racing. All the rest are merely games." Ernest Hemingway, American novelist.

"A zest for living must include a willingness to die." R.A. Heinlein

"People are more violently opposed to fur than leather because it's safer to harass rich women than motorcycle gangs." - Alexei Sayle

"I carry groceries home on the tank of my motorcycle." - Stephan Jenkins

"If I'm out trail-riding, I have a favorite motorcycle. Riding on the road, I've got a favorite. If I'm jumping, I have a favorite, and if I'm racing, I have a favorite." - Evel Knievel

"Riding a motorcycle on today's highways, you have to ride in a very defensive manner. You have to be a good rider and you have to have both hands and both feet on the controls at all times." - Evel Knievel

"When I was 21, I got into a motorcycle accident while traveling in Europe and I had to lie around a lot in the aftermath, which was really the first time in my life that I became really focused and inspired to write." - Chantal Kreviazuk

“They’ll talk to ya and talk to ya and talk to ya about individual freedom. But they see a free individual, it’s gonna scare ‘em.” George Hanson in the movie 'Easy Rider'

“So if you own a Japanese motorcycle, what kind of guy are you? Let me answer: a wannabe. You bought a bike from a company that wanted to be like something else. Harley-Davidson was the original. Bottom line. End of story.” Jay Barbieri

If you have any more quotes do send them to me. I shall include them in this list.