BIKER BABES -- HAPPY FRIDAY -- EYE CANDY

Biker Babes For The Guys and The Music Is Hot As Well By Journey, Enjoy!
Sorry ladies we did try to find video's somewhere anywhere that had Biker Hunks and there are none out there. So please don't be offended.

HINTS AND TIPS FOR RIDING IN THE RAIN by Shannon Duffy

It's 8AM Tuesday morning and you peer out your kitchen window. Although the weatherman on TV had announced the night before that clear skies were in today's forecast, dark grey rain clouds are looming in the distance. While sipping on your morning cup-a-Joe, you try to estimate just how soon they'll be hovering over your home and contemplate thoughts to yourself such as, 'If I leave now, maybe, just maybe I'll be able to make it in to work without getting wet.' After all, that shiny bike of yours, sitting in the garage all night is begging for you to take it for another spin. 

You glance back up at the clouds and decide that yet again, you will chance it and ride on into work. In case luck is not on your side, here are some tips on how to prepare for riding in the rain and to keep yourself as dry and as safe as possible without having to succumb to driving to work in a cage. Let's begin!

Gear - In an ideal situation, you'll have invested in some all weather riding gear including waterproof boots and if that's the case then good for you! The minimum investment you should have on hand when it comes to rain gear is waterproof gloves that fasten securely around your wrist. Not only do gloves keep your hands dry during a rainstorm, but they'll also help keep them warm too. Another option is purchasing a rain suit to wear over your leathers if you don't have all weather gear. Waterproof your boots prior to riding in the rain as an extra precaution. However if you still don't want to spend a few extra dollars on a rain suit and waterproofing boot spray, then another, albeit low-cost option is to wear a couple of large trash bags over your clothing and plastic grocery bags inside your boots wrapped around your socks to help with rain-proofing yourself. Riding in the rain is not fun, but it's even worse if you get soaked.

Tires - Tires with a good tread pattern on them are the safest type to use when it's raining. This is because, there's more rubber to grip the slippery road. Still, even with decent tread on the tires, pushing your two-wheeler to the limits in the rain, be it a drizzle or a downpour, is not advised unless you want to hydroplane or worse yet, lay your bike down in front of oncoming traffic.

Wait - Oil and grease on the road tends to loosen up and sit on the surface during the start of the rain, so allow a solid 15 minutes or so for cars to splash the excess muck off onto the side of the street. Otherwise, you're just asking for trouble!

Avoidances - Steer clear of the painted lines on streets and hi-ways because they become extremely slick when wet. Common sense should encourage you to ride in the path of the tire trails left by vehicles in front of you since it will be the area on the road with the least amount of water on it. Manhole covers and railroad tracks are very slick when wet too. Avoid them if at all possible, but if you must cross over them, heed with caution keeping a steady throttle.

Visor Care - To help eliminate rain from building up on your visor and impairing your vision, there are a few products on the market you can apply prior to riding such as Fog Off. This product and products like it encourage the water to roll and bounce right off of the visor. Your visor may also indeed become foggy while riding in the rain and although there are products on the market to help prevent that too, just cracking your visor open a smidge every now and again will help quickly eliminate this problem.

Though motorcycle riders generally avoid riding in the rain at all costs for obvious reasons, there is still that rare occasion that may sneak up on you and leave you in a compromising situation. Be prepared and alert so that you'll still be around to ride on future dry weather days as well!

SOUND REASONING SILENCES N.H. NOISE ORDINANCE by Bill Bish AIM/NCOM

Although North Hampton, New Hampshire voters approved a noise ordinance in May that prohibits motorcycles without an EPA sticker from being operated or even parked in town, a lawyer for the federal agency has expressed that just because the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency requires a label on all motorcycle mufflers indicating the noise the vehicle produces does not exceed 80 decibels doesn't mean a municipality has the authority to enforce that noise level.

"The Noise Control Act (NCA), which authorizes EPA to enact noise control regulations, states that 'nothing in this section precludes or denies the right of any state or political subdivision thereof to establish and enforce controls on environmental noise,” wrote EPA Senior Assistant Regional Counsel Timothy Williamson in an Aug. 31 letter to North Hampton Town Administrator Steve Fournier. "However, neither does it grant localities any additional authority to control environmental noise beyond that available to them under state and local law."

"The ordinance basically bans motorcycles from the town if they do not have an EPA label on their exhaust system even though the motorcycles comply with the state's noise level limit of 106 decibels," said Seacoast Harley-Davidson in court papers challenging the new law.

Even the town’s own legal counsel has indicated the ordinance is unenforceable, saying that the state has already determined the appropriate noise levels for motorcycles and that the town, therefore, does not have the option of creating its own more restrictive noise ordinance.

That opinion was clearly reiterated in Williamson's letter on behalf of the EPA. "Thus, neither the NCA nor the regulations in Part 205 (of the EPA code) grant municipalities the authority to enact or enforce ordinances that supersede any limitations on their authority under state law," he wrote.

Town officials decided not to fight the Harley dealer’s request for a preliminary injunction against the enforcement of the noise ordinance. "The ordinance will remain unenforced until we have a hearing," Fournier said, indicating that the town’s new noise ordinance will not be enforced until after the judge issues a ruling on the matter.

CALIFORNIA LAWMAKERS HOPE TO HUSH LOUD PIPES by Bill Bish AIM/NCOM

California is home to the largest population of motorcyclists in the country, and if legislators have their way, it could also soon be home to one of the most onerous anti-motorcycle laws in America.

By a bare majority vote of 21-16 on August 30 the state Senate approved SB435 which will make it a crime to operate a motorcycle manufactured after Jan. 1, 2013 that fails to meet federal noise-emission control standards and that all new motorcycles sold after that date must display and maintain compliance labels from the Environmental Protection Agency. 

A similar bill last session would have required biennial smog checks for emissions violations, but after meeting resistance from bikers’ rights groups it has since been amended to target illegally modified exhaust systems. Supporters of the bill say that many motorcycle owners modify their exhausts to make them louder, but swapping a compliant tailpipe equipped with a catalytic converter for one without emissions controls produces more smog-forming pollutants per mile.  

Opponents of the measure counter that many aftermarket exhausts meet federal EPA emissions standards but aren’t labeled, and labeling on stock systems is often difficult to locate, meaning that law-abiding riders could be unfairly ticketed. SB435 has already passed the Assembly and its fate now lies in the hands of the state’s most famous motorcycle rider, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, whose office has not yet taken a position on the proposed legislation.

Bandit's Tour Rider Essentials

If you are plan on taking a road trip this fall or winter here is a check-list of items that should help you on your trip.

Here are a few items you might want to consider including in your own personal moto-touring packing list:

1. Clear Contact paper or low-tack tape (great for protecting motorcycle bodywork from luggage straps and bungee cords)
2. Soft-hook tie-downs (great for creating bungee cord hooks)
3. Bungee cords
4. Siphon hose
5. Ziplock bags (thousands of uses—you can even drain gas into a bag from one bike's petcock, then pour it into another bike)
6. Zip-ties
7. Duct tape and electrical tape (wrap a small amount around each leg of the pliers in your bike's tool kit to save space)
8. Flat repair kit (tube or tubeless, depending on your machine)
9. CO2 cartridge tire inflators, or another type of inflation device
10. Chain master link
11. Handi-wipes
12. Cellphone / GPS Device
13. Bike Cover
14. Flashlight
15. Multi-tool or Swiss Army knife
16. Tire pressure gauge
17. Shop rags
18. Extra fuses
19. Extra ignition key
20. Towel
21. Aspirin
22. Earplugs
23. Sunblock
24. Chapstick
25. $20 bill hidden on Bike
26. Up-to-date license and registration
27. Spare glasses
28. Spare dark or light faceshield
29. Bandana (protect your neck from cold or your mouth from dust; or, in hot weather, soak it in water and tie it around your neck)
30. Laundry detergent (powder)/clothespins (for washing out a shirt in your room)
31. Space blanket
32. Lighter
33. Rain-X (check your windshield manufacturer for use)
34. Faceshield cleaner
35. Water (one of those backpack hydration systems can be a lifesaver in hot weather)
36. U-lock/disc lock
37. Raingear (with glove and boot covers)
38. Walking shoes
39. Weather radio
40. Spare helmet hardware (plastic screws)
41. Garbage bags (for rainproofing your luggage or even as an extra windproof layer on you in extreme cold)
42. Telephone calling card
43. Camera
44. Emergency medical and contact info in wallet