Getting Ready to Spring from Winter's Lock-Down!!

An early Spring was predicted by the Groundhog this year... but we're not feeling it up in Northern New York - at least not yet. Winter keeps stormin' back in as if to say, "And another thing!!"

That being said, while we're waiting for April Showers to wash the salt & sand off the roads, here's some things you can do now to prepare for the upcoming riding season from FX Caprara Harley-Davidson:

1) Dust Off Your Owner's Manual & Give it a Good Read

Take a break from your Spring Cleaning (you know you want to!) and do a read through. While we're giving you basic information here, you'll find specific information on YOUR bike -like tire pressure, load limits, security codes and more.

Can't find it your manual? You can find it online here.

2) It's been a while... Catch back up with your Bike

If you've stored your bike at home, hopefully you Properly Hibernated your bike. If not, it might not be too late: get out to the garage NOW and hook-up your bike to a Battery Tender, check your tire pressure and put a breathable cover on her.

Remember: your bike's battery & charging system are not the same as your car!! Your bike has to be under power (aka you need to be riding it) before the bike charges back to the battery. So just starting your bike and letting it sit and idle is actually doing way more harm than good. I covered this in FXCHD's #WhatsUpWednesday S1:E2 -catch it here on our YouTube Channel.

Now, if you usually store gasoline at home to fill up with, make sure you've put a fuel stabilizer in the can as well. Old fuel that hasn't been treated has probably lost its combustible properties, which will make any motor run rough.

Staying well rounded is also key - check your tire pressure! And while you're at it, check your tires for wear. Please, please, please don't try to squeeze extra miles on worn out tires - you only have two and they're pretty important to how your bike handles and the safety of your ride.

3) Going Mental... Mentally Preparing for the Ride

We've already started playing everybody's favorite game: "How

Deep Is That Pothole?" That, along with the salt & sand those wonderful plow trucks have left behind will be the things to watch out for.

Even though it is extremely hard, we at FXCHD highly recommend waiting until there has been at least two good rains to wash off the roads most of everything winter has given us.

If you do decide to ride your bike early, we won't report you for Harley abuse... but your bike will suffer and so will your trade-in value. (See our blog "5 Ways to Ruin Your Bike.")

4) To See or Not to See... it's usually the later

Those behind the wheel of cars & trucks (aka "cagers") haven't

seen a motorcycle on the road in months. And now that you're about to be riding your bike out and about, you must remember this!

"But of course they'll see me, I'm 'new' to them," you think. Think again.

These last 5-6 months drivers have been lulled into thinking motorcyclists don't exist. And the way our brains are wired, when motorists are looking for space to turn or merge, they see only the absence of a car and not the presence of a motorcycle. Don't believe me?? Check out this science experiment.

Wear appropriate riding gear, take anyone waiting to turn left in front of you as an immediate threat to your life, and constantly play the "What if?" game.

5) You've Lost that Riding Feeling... (I hate when that happens!)

The main reason drivers haven't seen motorcycles in the last few months is because we haven't been riding... (Thanks Captain Obvious!!)

And the old adage is true: If you don't use it, you loose it. Your riding skills were much sharper last September versus now.

There's a skill set when it comes to riding and to maintain that it takes practice, practice, practice. So, for your first ride of the year, we highly suggest you plan to ride over to the local school parking lot on the weekend (when there's likely to be less parked cars) and practice the basic stuff: slow turns & figure 8's to re-master your clutch/throttle, emergency braking and maneuvering drills.

You can always take an Advanced Rider's Course (sometimes

called the Basic Rider's Course 2) through your local MSF Riding Academy. There's no classroom time - all your learning is done using your motorcycle out on the riding range. They'll teach you about counter-balance, cornering, swerving and more. Added bonus: you'll probably get a discount on your auto & motorcycle insurance policy.

The other issue is that we are our own worst enemy in that we're too impatient. We are chomping at the bit to ride and that first fine Spring Day will have us like 🌞🌎💞😍!! But, in our eagerness to get out and ride, we decide not to take the time to put on all our gear... And we may neglect to re-assess our skills, getting into a corner way too hot. Patience is a virtue and it'll also keep you safe!!

It'll be a nice long riding season, unless you injure yourself and wreck your bike.

5 Driving Mistakes Bikers Can't Stand

Days are getting shorter, temps are decreasing... soon enough all of us will be caging it (aka back behind the steering wheel of our daily driver). 

(*crying inside)

Since it's coming to that soon, we at FX Caprara Harley-Davidson thought we'd go over the stuff that drives us insane, no matter if we're riding or driving.

Photo by Logan Fisher on Unsplash

You see, most of us have taken the Basic Riders Course to get the "M" endorsement on our Driver's License, which makes us better drivers as well (that's why your auto insurance company will give you a discount after completing the class). 

Hopefully you know enough not to be doing these mistakes... but if you're guilty please stop it now. You are putting yourself and others at risk of an accident that could have been avoided - not cool.

5) Not using your Turn Signals

Those are the signals you give to indicate which way you're going to turn or when you wish to change lanes. I know every modern car and truck have them! So when you see a Biker getting upset because you changed lanes or slowed down to turn into a parking lot without signaling, now you know we didn't know what you were doing. Tell us which way you're going to go and we'll be ok with that.

4) Crossing the White/Fog Line to pass on the right

While it isn't illegal to do so in most states, it is something that drives Bikers mad and here's why: It's true motorcycles take up less room on the road, however we still like our 'cushion' room. A Biker has their 'personal space' even while riding and when a driver invades that space, s/he takes it kind of personally. Please give us the same room you'd give a car.

Photo by David Guenther on Unsplash

3) Jumping the Light 

We get it- you're in a hurry because you woke up late, got stuck behind the school bus or snow plow, or the dog got sick and you had to clean it up, etc., etc. Now you're waiting for the light to turn green, which you can see it'll do soon since the cross-traffic light is changing to yellow, soon to be red. There's no traffic coming... You decide you can just go ahead and go before you actually get the green light.

What you didn't see was that other vehicle -be it Biker or Driver- who is also in a hurry. Or maybe they decided they wouldn't be able to stop in time for the light and 'went for it' instead. Either way now you're both trying to be in the same space at the same time -not good! 

This is why there's a delay between when the stop light turns red for the other direction and your light turning green. Take your time and wait your turn.

2) Driving too slow in the Passing Lane

Two-lanes traveling in the same direction on a highway or interstate, the left lane is called the 'Passing Lane'. That means you travel in the right lane and, when you encounter a vehicle going slower than you, you move to the left, pass them, and then move back.

Drivers who 'hang out' in the Passing Lane, especially when they are not passing anyone, are most aggravating. Also, when they're going just 68mph passing someone doing 65mph.... so we'll say it again:

Using the left lane, actively pass the slower vehicle in the right lane, and then move back over!! 

No matter who is calling, put the phone down and drive!

1) Distracted Driving and Driving Under the Influence

Drivers that are on their phone, doing make-up, trying to eat their fast food, and those too drunk to even know where they are = the biggest threats to our lives when we're on the road. 

You don't see hardly anyone or know what's going on around you. You're the equivalent of a small bomb poised to potentially really screw-up an innocent person's day (and possibly even their life) as well as your own.

Put the phone down. Do your make-up at home. Stop somewhere to eat. Call a friend, a cab or Uber rather than drive. The life you save will be your own.