After 122 Years, The Motorcycle Is Finally Growing In Popularity In The USA

First developed by Gottlieb Daimler in 1885, the motorcycle has been an important element in the transportation infrastructure around the world. In countries where population numbers are high, such as Japan, China and India, the motorcycle and motorized scooter are the personal transportation vehicle of choice.

Until World War I, India sported the largest motorcycle manufacturing company in the world. By 1920, the legendary Harley Davidson took the reigns as the world's largest manufacturer of motorcycles, and they held the title for seven years, until 1927 when the German manufacturer DKW took the lead.

In the aftermath of World War II, DKW lost their lead to the English company BSA Group. As part of the post-war reparations by Germany, DKW turned over its designs to the BSA Group and Harley Davidson motorcycles. BSA Group purchased the Triumph Motorcycles brand, during their decade as the leader in motorcycle manufacturing.

From 1955 to the 1970's, German motorcycle manufacturers dominated the marketplace, and then the lead passed to Japan's hierarchy of top brands, including Honda, Kawasaki, Yamaha and Suzuki.

From Easy Rider to American Choppers

In 1969, when Easy Rider was first released to American audiences, motorcycle enthusiasts were considered outcasts and outlaws. When American Choppers debuted on the Discovery Channel in 2002, the Teutul family's Orange County Choppers introduced the world to the beauty and love for custom-built motorcycles.

The Teutul's have built custom bikes for major organizations and corporations, enabling the world to begin to view motorcycles and their riders in a more positive light. U.S. Air Force recruiters commissioned a $150,000 custom motorcycle from OCC that is being used as a public outreach tool. OCC has even built custom motorcycles for the New York Jets, the Miami Heat, Snap-On Tools, NAPA Auto Parts, Learjet, Bass Pro Shops, and the 7/11 convenience store chain.

Major corporations have invested nice sums of money to have custom-built motorcycles made just for them, and that has given the motorcycle community something positive to cheer. After more than 125 years, motorcycles have become mainstream.

Motorcycles For The Average Guy

While OCC choppers are beautiful to look at, the average guy simply cannot afford to spend better than $100,000 for a custom-built machine. That is why we average people drive models like: Aprilia, BMW, Buell, Harley-Davidson, Honda, Kawasaki, KTM, Suzuki, Triumph, Victory or Yamaha. Other models frequently seen on American roads include Ducati and Echelon, although both require a little bigger budget to own.

Americans have long been spoiled by gasoline that costs less than two dollars per gallon, but those days seem to be long gone. As Americans contemplate higher fuel costs and their current driving habits, the motorcycle continues to grow in popularity among the population. As people begin to digest the high cost of filling the tank on their SUV, many are making the decision to sell their SUV and to use a motorcycle (and in some cases, a motorized scooter) to take them to and from work.

Once they have made the switch from automobile to motorcycle, these new motorcycle owners begin to realize the freedom that they have missed through their adult life.

Buying Used Or New Motorcycles

The question of new or used is often a question of budget, although the costs of new motorcycles are generally fairly low when compared to the cost of a new compact car. Simply put, if you can afford to buy a compact car new, then you can afford to buy your next motorcycle new as well.

The newest American-made motorcycle is the Victory, made by Polaris, based in Minnesota. Polaris has been involved in vehicle manufacturing for better than 50 years, getting their start with snowmobiles. Polaris is also one of the largest manufacturers or all-terrain vehicles (ATVs). In 1998, they introduced the new Victory motorcycle to great accolades and reviews. According to the 2006 J.D. Power report, the Victory motorcycle had the highest overall rating of all of the motorcycle manufacturers.

The Harley Davidson still remains popular among Harley enthusiasts. BMW motorcycles are popular among the yuppies with a need for speed; and the Japanese models of Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki and Yamaha have retained their popularity over large cross-sections of the population.

Regular Maintenance

As with any vehicle, regular maintenance is essential to ensure the long-life of the equipment and the safety of the rider.

With motorcycles, maintaining good tires is even more important than it is to keep good tires on a car. With only two wheels to the ground, a blowout on the road could lead to a major accident for the rider, so it is imperative to keep two good tires on the ground at all times.

Other parts to be mindful of include the braking system, and the brake and accelerator cables, the drive chain, and its sprockets. Although a motorcycle is not as complex as an automobile, it still retains essential parts that must be cared for in a responsible manner.

At one point or another, all vehicles will need to have parts replaced or repaired. One of the most fortunate aspects of a motorcycle is the ease of which to find replacement parts for the vehicle. Whereas owning a new car might put you in the uncomfortable situation of always having to order parts, which no one has on hand, the motorcycle owner does not have the same problem.

Making Good Choices

Whatever new or used motorcycle you choose to go with, you will find that the continuing maintenance and operation of that vehicle will be much less than that of a car. And in these days of high gasoline prices, the choice of a motorcycle or scooter to help in your transportation needs can be considered as nothing short of a godsend.



Corbin Schroeder traded his SUV for a motorcycle in 2003. If you need snowmobile parts, scooter parts, or motorcycle parts, Corbin recommends you to visit Xtreme Parts Net to see for yourself what they have to offer. http://www.XtremeParts.net is a proud sponsor of the ESPN2 Metric Revolution Motorcycle Build Off.

A Toll Road On The Internet

I thought you might be interested in the campaign to save Internet freedom at http://www.savetheinternet.com.

Congress is pushing through a law that would permit large telephone and cable companies, like AT&T, Verizon and Comcast, to control what you do, where you go and what you watch online.

Visit the URL below to check out what's at stake and send a loud message directly to the Congress: http://www.savetheinternet.com

Companies have come and gone whose goal was to tax every email message sent over the internet. Thank goodness their goals were thwarted.

Now, other telecom companies are attempting to go one step further.

Their thought is that businesses should pay a toll so that their users can continue to receive their high-speed access to our websites. Never mind that the web surfer has already paid to receive high-speed access. These telecom companies now want to take an additional fee from websites to be able to have their websites served over a high-speed connection. If webmasters don't pay the fee, then when people access their website, the website will load slower, at a rate consistent with a dial-up connection.

The deal is that telecom cannot do this, unless Congress agrees to let them do so. And, the legal language is working its way through Congress right now. Google and Yahoo tried to stand against the telecoms and it seems like they were unsuccessful.

It is now up to the people. Tell your Congress Person that you have already paid for high-speed access, and you do not believe it is right that telecoms should slow your connection to certain websites.

If you visit http://www.savetheinternet.com, you can fill in your own words into an email that will be sent to your Congress Person, based on your zip code.

Here is the deal. My webhosting provider is paying high dollars to keep high-speed access in place for the server where my websites reside. That is already part of my standard operating expenses. I am also paying my cable company another fifty dollars a month to keep high-speed access in my home.

But this new legislation, if passed, will limit my ability to download websites quickly, based on whether the webmaster is willing to pay for additional high-speed access for their domain.

For multiple domain owners such as myself, I could very well be looking at another several hundred dollars a month to keep my websites operational at high-speeds for all of my high-speed access clients.

Tell your Congressman what you think: http://www.savetheinternet.com

My users are already paying for high-speed access, and I am already paying good money for high-speed access in my office and on my server, but now other companies think that I should pay them for high-speed access for my customers too?

Hmmm...

I Thought Hillary Planned On Making A Run For The Presidency, Until I Heard This....

Hillary Scolds Lazy Generation Y

(EXCERPT) - May 12, 2006, New York Post

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton lashed out at the instant-gratification generation yesterday, saying young adults "think work is a four-letter word."

"Kids, for whatever reason, think they're entitled to go right to the top with $50,000 or $75,000 jobs when they have not done anything to earn their way up," the Dems' 2008 White House front-runner said.

"A lot of kids don't know what work is. They think work is a four-letter word," she told a Republican-leaning audience gathered at the annual U.S. Chamber of Commerce convention.

"We've got to send a different message to our young people. America didn't happen by accident. A lot of people worked really hard. They've got to do their part, too."

A young adult who Clinton knows well, daughter Chelsea, 26, started a six-figure consulting gig in the New York office of London-based McKinsey & Company after receiving her master's degree from Oxford in 2003.

The former first lady blamed cable TV, high-speed Internet, cellphones and iPods for creating a culture that "really argues against hard work. It's a culture that has a premium on instant gratification."

"You know, I grew up in a home with one TV set and we didn't get that right off the bat. It improved your negotiating skills because you had to argue about what channel you were going to watch, even though there were only three," Clinton said.

(Complete New York Post Article)


Does Hillary really believe that if she "pisses off" an entire generation that she can still get elected to the Presidency of the United States?

I thought she would scramble to "hang on" to every single vote she could get, since she is climbing a really steep hill already...

I guess Hillary believes that "20-something" voters don't vote...

Hmmm...

Religious Freedom In the America's

It has been noted that the Christian Pilgrams came to America after Columbus had discovered it, "for financial reasons and for religious freedom." It is a well-known fact that most of them came to North America to escape religious persecution in England and Europe.

According to a program on the History Channel, when they landed and discovered the native peoples, they became excited by the idea of converting the natives to Christianity, to help bring the prophesy of the endtimes to fruition as described in the Bible.

Daniel Chapter 3:

3 So the heads of the provinces, the governors, the captains, the chiefs, the great princes, those who were in authority, and all the rulers of districts, were gathered to the dedication of the image which King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. And they stood before the image.

4 Then a herald cried aloud, To you it is commanded, you peoples, tribes, and languages,

5 at what hour you shall hear the sound of the trumpet, pipe, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and every kind of music, you shall fall down and worship the golden image which King Nebuchadnezzar has set up.

6 And whosoever shall not fall down and worship, in the same hour he shall be cast into the burning fiery furnace.

7 And it came to pass when the nations heard the sound of the trumpet, pipe, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and all kinds of music, all the nations, tribes, and languages fell down and worshipped the golden image which King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.


It is believed that this passage reflects the Coming Of The AntiChrist and the endtimes.


So, back to my story...

The Christian Pilgrims came to North America to settle so that they could achieve Religious Freedom for themselves.

Promptly upon their arrival, they began the process of trying to convert the Natives to Christianity. Those who would not convert were declared to be Agents Of The Anti-Christ, and they were summarily killed or executed.


So, the Christian Pilgrims cherished Religious Freedoms for themselves, but in the same breath took Freedom Of Religion away from the Native Americans...

Hmmm...


P.S. I am a Christian too, but it does not preclude me from being embarrassed by the actions of my ancestors.