With motorcycle engine sizes getting larger then ever, it seems that sticking a V8 engine into a motorcycle frame is not as crazy of an idea as it used to be.  In fact, Boss Hoss Motorcycles has had a V8 motorcycle on the market for several years already.  But did you know that the Italian motorcycle manufacturer, Moto Guzzi, had a water-cooled V8 engine in the 1950’s?

continue reading:  "V8 Motorcycle from 1950s Still Awesome Today"

When the weather heats up, it’s hard to enjoy your ride when your drenched in sweat while wearing your favorite black leather motorcycle jacket.  Heavy leather is for motorcycle riding because it blocks the wind and it helps protect your skin from of the sting of large insects, road debris or from a fall.   Also, how about large birds, like John Travolta got hit with while riding a Harley-Davidson in Wild Hogs!

When you’re stuck in traffic on a hot summer day, you won’t be thinking much about the safety benefits of leather.  You’ll be thinking about how quickly you can get that jacket off of you and how much you are sweating.

Yes, there are some warm weather motorcycle jackets that are made of perforated leather, but most of those specialty leathers are still too pricey for today’s budgets.  For this review, we only selected what we considered to be the most well designed and most versatile mesh motorcycle jackets priced below $180 US.

continue reading:  "Mesh Motorcycle Jackets are Cool Protection"

Valmobile folding scooters were made in Japan during the 1950’s and 60’s. They were often referred to as Suitcase Scooters because they folded down into something that looked very much like a suitcase.

This interesting little motor scooter weighed 75 pounds and measured 27.5 x 14 x 24.5 inches for storage in a “boat, plane, car, closet or basement” and could be unfolded and ready to ride in “30 seconds” according to their advertisements.

The engine was a 49cc 2-stroke that had a kick starter, automatic transmission (centrifugal clutch type), and was advertised to get up to 165 miles per gallon fuel economy and to go up to 35 miles per hour.  This is pretty similar to many scooters and mopeds today, but this one seems much more fun to have!

continue reading:  "Valmobile Scooter can Unfold & Go"

Brothers Air and Heat of Rock Hill, South Carolina held their 2nd annual Ride for Cure on April 4th to raise money and awareness for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) and I joined in for the ride.  The Brothers of Brothers Air and Heat are Duck and Roger Costner. Duck’s 12 year old daughter, Hannah, has juvenile diabetes.  This increasingly common disease unfortunately has no cure yet.  When I heard about the ride, I was more than happy to sign up, but once I got there and learned more about what having diabetes is like for her and other children like her, it really woke me up as to what the ride was all about.  I also found out afterwords that North Carolina, the state I live in, has the highest rate of diabetes in the USA.

continue reading:  "JDRF Charity Ride with Brothers Air & Heat"

As you may know from previous posts on Motorcycle Information on this subject, I am a fan of the annual Kyle Petty Charity Ride.  I am also a fan of the Petty’s and think it is really great what they do with Victory Junction and how they work to keep it growing.  The 2009 Kyle Petty Charity Ride will be begin on the west coast in Stevenson, Washington on May 8th and will end at Victory Junction in Randleman, North Carolina on May 17th.  This is the 15th year of the charity ride.

The riders in this years event will stay overnight in Richland, WA; Sun Valley, ID; Park City, UT; Steamboat Springs, CO; Hays, KS; Kansas City, MO; Batesville, AK; and Nashville, TN and Greensboro, NC.  Stay tuned to the ride schedule and go support them when they stop in an area near you!  You may even get a chance to meet Kyle himself, as I did last year.

continue reading:  "2009 Kyle Petty Charity Ride Scheduled"

This is an important year for women motorcyclists.  Each year, more women ride motorcycles than ever before, and this year will very likely set a new record.

One important event, the 3rd annual International Female Ride Day, is scheduled for the first day of May.  The Female Ride Day is about getting more women out there to just ride and show support for women motorcyclists.  It also is to help promote getting more women involved with riding.

Harley-Davidson continues to be a big supporter of getting women into motorcycling, and has many events planned to help and encourage female riders.   Harley dealerships are hosting what they are calling a Garage Party.  The Garage Party is a fun event for women only, and is aimed towards non-riders that want to learn more about motorcycles, but don’t have much knowledge or experience with them yet.

continue reading:  "Motorcycle Women Get Ready to Ride"

Myrtle Beach didn’t want to host biker rallies after 2008, so New Bern struck while the iron was hot.  New Bern North Carolina is the new host of the official Carolina Harley-Davidson Dealer’s Association Spring Rally.  This biker rally will be held from May 15-16, 2009.

The specific location is the Craven County Fairgrounds, which is about a 3-1/2 hour ride up the coast from Myrtle Beach near the Pamlico sound area about 45 minutes north of Jacksonville, NC.

The Carolina Harley Davidson Dealer’s Association will host their fall motorcycle rally at Maggie Valley, NC on September 18-19, 2009.  Their mission with these motorcycle rallies is simple, and that is “to promote motorcycle awareness and the fun and excitement of owning a motorcycle”. How can you beat that?

We all want to ride, but none of us want to spend much for motorcycle gear, especially now with the sour economy. There are still many great deals available on motorcycle gear online at some obvious places, and some not so obvious.

continue reading:  "Where Riders Find The Best Motorcycle Gear"

During tough times, people will try to cut costs wherever they think they can. Some folks will even reduce the amount of car insurance they have in order to reduce their premiums. Worse yet, some folks are desperate enough to be driving around without any car insurance. It’s these two categories, the underinsured and the uninsured, that can create loads of problems for accident victims, including motorcycle accidents

The Insurance Research Council did a report recently showing that the number of uninsured drivers dropped to 13.8% in 2007 from 14.9% in 2003. Because of bad economic conditions, the forecast for uninsured drivers in 2010 is slightly more than 16%.

continue reading:  "Motorcycle Insurance Advice for Tough Times"

Does anyone else remember Hodaka dirt bikes? I actually had an Hodaka Dirt Squirt 100 as a teenager around 1980 that I bought used.   I sometimes think back to those fun days of riding dirt bikes with my friends.  Them on their Hondas and Kawasakis and me on my Hodaka.  I even wore a Hodaka T-Shirt that made me feel like a real pro.

We all used to laugh at the name of my bike, the Dirt Squirt, but that wasn’t the funniest model name Hodaka used, nor was it the strangest.  What dirt bike rider wouldn’t aspire to own a Combat Wombat?  When your riding a Dirt Squirt, believe me, the Combat Wombat sounded pretty darn exciting, and maybe a little weird too.  But, I have to give the prize to the marketing geniuses that actually approved the Hodaka model name Road Toad. They sure picked a name that would get attention, but what in the world were they thinking? It’s almost like they said, let’s face it, this thing is a real piece of junk, so let’s just give it a name that tells it like it is! Well, these are actually collectible now.

continue reading:  "Hodaka Motorcycles from Ace to Road Toad"