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Posts Tagged ‘Basic’

Operating a motorcycle requires a degree of concentration and skill that surpasses that which is necessary for driving an automobile. The foundation for safe motorcycle operation is built on proper training and experience. Riding a motorcycle should not be taken lightly; you must undergo the proper preparation before ever riding by yourself. You must also ride only after you have earned the appropriate license. In most states, a special (sometimes a class M or class M1, M2 etc.) license is required to operate a motorcycle. Most states also require that you prove your proficiency in motorcycle operation in a motorcycle driving test before they issue the license.

Starting Out

Before you even consider getting a motorcycle, enroll in a basic motorcycle operation course. There are private organizations that provide training on how to ride a motorcycle. You can find the names and numbers to suitable trainers or training organizations by contacting your local department of motor vehicles. When you call to get information about the training programs and courses, make sure to ask if it is required that you bring your own bike or if they use their own motorcycles for training. You may also want to double-check to make sure basic safety is covered (it usually is).

Proper Gear

In order to increase your likelihood of staying safe and free from injury in the event of an accident or other unexpected danger, all precautions must be taken. This means using the proper safety gear designed to protect you on your motorcycle.

* Make sure you have a durable jacket, preferably made of leather or some other thick, protective material.
* Wear heavy boots that cover the ball of your ankle completely and do not have rubber soles.
* Make sure your helmet is up to code and covers your entire head, face, chin and ears and that you are wearing your helmet correctly. Also, make sure that your helmet is the right size by ensuring that it fits correctly and snugly without being too tight.
* Wear gloves made of leather or other sturdy material to protect your palms and hands from injury should you take a fall.
* If you plan to ride at night or in places that are dark, be sure you use reflective gear so that auto drivers will see you.

Rules of the Road/Safety Tips

Some of the safety tips below seem like common sense, and others will be safety precautions you never even thought of. Whether you are brand new to riding a motorcycle or an experienced rider of many years, the below safety tips will ensure you’re doing your best to prevent danger and injury on the road.

Checking the Bike

* Check the tires. Make sure there is adequate tire pressure. Check the surface of the tire for any cuts or embedded foreign objects.
* Check the controls and all cables. Make sure there aren’t any loose cables or wires anywhere.
* Check all lights and signals to make sure they are in proper working condition.
* Check the horn to make sure it works and adjust the mirrors.

Sharing the Road

* Two motorcycles may share a lane as long as both bike operators are okay with it. In this case, make sure there is plenty of room between you and the other motorcycle operator as well as between you and any other vehicles.
* A staggered riding formation is preferable to riding side-by-side.
* Always keep your bike in one lane or the other as lane splitting is illegal.

Shifting Gears

* Shift only when travelling in a straight line – avoiding shifting gears when you are in a turn.
* Become familiar with the sound of the motorcycle so you can easily tell when it is time to shift gears without having to glance down at your indicators.
* When you come to a stop in traffic, leave the bike in first gear with the clutch disengaged. This will allow you to move quickly if something is coming up behind you.

Turning Safely

* Slow down when entering a turn and keep your eyes focused on the turn.
* Lean your body and your motorcycle into the turn.
* Accelerate into, through and out of the turn.

Braking

* Use your front brake every single time you want to slow down. Up to 70% of your stopping power is contained in the front brake.
* Always apply your front and rear brakes at the same time. Make sure you don’t apply either one hard enough for the wheels to lock, as this can cause the bike to skid.
* Do not remove your foot from the left peg until the motorcycle comes to a complete stop.

Road Hazards

* Learn to glance far ahead into the road frequently in order to plan your course of action and strategize how to safely maneuver your way through traffic.
* Railroad crossings should be taken at a 90 degree angle if at all possible. Slow down when crossing the tracks and stand slightly on the foot pegs while you cross over.
* When you come across potholes, try to swerve around them if it’s possible and safe. Otherwise, slow down while rising slightly on the pegs and go right into and over the pothole.

Parking

* Motorcycles may park at an angle in parallel parking spaces.
* Even though your motorcycle will fit in smaller spaces, always make sure that it is far enough from automobiles that an open door will not knock your bike down.
* Don’t forget to engage your kickstand.

Basic Safety

All the motorcycle safety tips in the world will not keep you safe and sound on the road unless you have had the proper training, practice and preparedness. Take a motorcycle operators training course, get the proper license, and get ready to ride! Prepare by putting on the proper safety equipment, including jacket, helmet and gloves. Review the rules of the road and learn your basic motorcycle etiquette. Take extra care when turning, shifting gears or braking. Most importantly, have fun!

Have you ever ridden a motorcycle before? Even the mere idea of riding a motorcycle gives most people a little jolt of excitement. It doesn’t matter if we’re talking about a sportbike, or “crotch rocket,” or a laidback cruiser; there’s an inherent visceral thrill that’s generated by these two-wheeled machines. Ask someone if they’ve ever ridden a motorcycle, whether as a driver or a passenger, and you’ll either get an affirmative answer or a familiar “No, but I’ve always wanted to….”

Most motorcycle riders already cruising the highways or cornering through twisting canyons know all about the irresistible draw of motorcycles. But experienced riders all realize that riding a motorcycle demands a mature mindset, fundamental skills, constant practice, and most importantly, proper gear and training. If you want to learn to ride a motorcycle, learn it the proper way.

First, enroll yourself in a motorcycle rider training program. A fully licensed and certified training program, such as the one offered by the MSF (Motorcycle Safety Foundation), should be your preferred choice. Such a program will teach you the fundamentals of riding, as well as the factual and practical knowledge needed to pass a written and ridden motorcycle license test. Over the past few decades, these programs have taken hundreds of thousands of fledgling riders and put them on the right road to riding success.

Don’t forget to carry along some basic riding equipment such as gloves, long-sleeved jacket, and sturdy boots. A helmet and a motorcycle will be provided. One or more highly experienced instructors will guide you through one or more days of lectures, following by actually riding exercises in an enclosed lot. Don’t be intimidated though, the teachers will start you out at a slow, easy pace and have you controlling and riding a real motorcycle in no time.

After you’ve learned the basics of riding, go get your motorcycle license. Now you’re free to hit the streets and practice on your own, or better yet, with more experienced riders. Make sure you take it very easy at first, and definitely avoid situations you can’t handle, such as slashing canyon runs or rush-hour traffic in the middle of a big city. Your focus should be on staying safe and practicing the fundamental skills that you’ve learned.

Gradually (but much more quickly than you realize), your skills will improve greatly, and you’ll join millions of other riders out there having a blast on the wide open highways today.

In conclusion, after you’ve become an experienced rider yourself, make sure to guide younger riders by pointing them toward the same proper steps to learning to ride a motorcycle. Too many riders start out by ignoring the proper, safe path of learning to ride, and end up in a dangerous situation or lack of training due to impatience or an immature mindset.

The vast majority of riders involved in a motorcycle accident took the easy way out and avoided proper training, or worse, didn’t wear the proper safety equipment. Luckily, you’re a mature, intelligent rider who will learn to ride the right way.

Nokia may be waxing nostalgic about the good old days of basic mobile phones when it designed the Nokia 7230.  It’s a pretty slider phone alright, stylishly rounded corners on a sleek 98 x 46 x 14.75mm body weighing a very pocket-friendly 100g.  It’s certainly very easy on the eyes and easy on both the pocket and wallet.

But don’t get your hopes to high. At a mere €100 when it hits Europe in early first quarter of 2010, this is an entry-level budget phone every way you look at it.  While it’s 3G, it doesn’t support 3.5G (HSDPOA/HSUPA) on UMTS.  There’s no WiFi.

It holds a smallish 2.4” VGA display that only supports 256k colors and a 3.2 megapixel camera without LED flash.  It even runs an antediluvian Symbian S40 operating system.  We can’t remember the last time we used one.  We really don’t know what Nokia is thinking.  Its €100 sticker price seems easy alright but anyone can be forgiven if they think the handset is overpriced given its lackluster hardware feature set.

Redeeming Qualities

Okay we’ve stolen the thunder out of this modest phone by starting out with its negatives.  But not everything is a waste. Apart from looking pretty in your hands, the Nokia 7230 comes in two fashion-centric body colors the hip crowd would be glad to choose from – graphite and hot pink.  We’re sure Nokia has the sexes in mind with those choices.

The Nokia 7230 is a quad band GSM/GPRS/EDGE and a tri band 3G/UMTS.  No WiFi but you get Bluetooth 2.1 with EDR. Full USB 2.0 is supported and has the industry standard 3.5mm headphone jack. You have Nokia Maps 3.0 pre-loaded but without GPS, you can only do so much with it. Video recording is at QVGA resolution at 15 fps. Internal memory while modestly pegged at 70 MB can be expanded up to 16GBfrom its microSD slot. You get a 2GB microSD free together with the package.  Its 860mAh BL-4V lithium-ion batters provided 5.4 hours of talk time on 2G and 15 hours in standby when fully charged.  Music playback gets 27 hours.

Software wise, you get an Opera Mini browser with a WebSearch Midlet on its Symbian S40 OS as well as native Google Talk, Windows Live support and Nokia messaging with video streaming support.  Its media players support all the popular audio, video and image file formats in the market. You can also upload your videos to Ovi Share and have access to Nokia Music store with this Nokia Music Manager.

Last but not the least, it comes with FM radio and is bundled with games likes Snake III, Bounce II, Sudoku II and Rally Start which should be adequate to calm your boredom on this handset.

Joining the Save the Planet Movement

The Nokia 7320 joins the growing handsets that are increasingly having a stake in saving the planet.  It is a an eco-friendly mobile phone that uses nickel-free materials on its body that’s also free from PVC, flame retardants, Brominated and Chlorinated compounds and antimony trioxides.  The packaging is made of 100% recycled pulp and reduced in size presumably to make it easier to dispose.  The handset has a power saving mode that reminds you to unplug the charger when charging is done.  The device itself is said to be 80% recyclable. It manual and web site have Eco-tutorials and eco-tips on the manual’s Green Page.

Article by Ron Bargman

O-rings are mechanical sealing gaskets predominantly made from elastomers. They are loops of elastomers, shaped like donuts, which are used to create a seal between two mating surfaces. The sealing effect of the O-rings is facilitated by the deformation of the elastomer loop. The type of elastomers used to make O-rings and their ability to maintain sealing forces is critical to the performance of these elastomeric gaskets in static as well as dynamic sealing applications. Hence, proper selection of elastomer material is equally important as other seal selection criteria such as anticipated service conditions, O-ring size, and design requirements.

Elastomers are essentially polymers having the property of elasticity. They consist of long, flexible polymer chains capable of cross-linking, during curing or vulcanizing. This cross-linking prevents the polymer chains to revert to their non-cross linked polymer configuration, while also imparting resilience, strength, and most importantly, elasticity to the elastomers used to make O-rings. Elastomers can be categorized based on the type of core polymer used to make them. Elastomeric sealing compounds are composed of approximately 60% base polymer. The filler, softener, accelerator, cuing agent, processing aid, as well as other additive compositions of elastomers determine their physical and chemical properties. Suitability of elastomers for various applications depends on the type of chemical additives, the properties of the core polymer, and the way by which the elastomers are processed.

Some of the high-performance elastomers used in industrial sealing applications include fluorosilicone, nitrile, hydrogenated nitrile, polyacrylate, and tetrafluoroethylene / propylene. Other commonly used O-ring elastomers include silicone, ethylene propylene, and fluoroelastomers.

Fluorosilicone (FVMQ)Fluorosilicone elastomers have similar mechanical properties as silicones. However, FVMQ O-rings are more resistant to fuels and oils. When compared to silicone, FVMQ compounds exhibit low hot air resistance. These material grades are suitable for applications involving mineral-based hydraulic fluids, petroleum fuels, and hydrocarbon oils, making them ideal for use in aerospace fuel systems. However, fluorosilicone elastomers are not compatible with brake fluids, ketones, and hydrazine.

Nitrile (NBR)Nitrile is commonly used in the seal industry because of its excellent mechanical properties and its ability to resist petroleum products. The physical properties of NBR depend on the base polymer’s acrylonitrile (ACN) content, which can range from 18% to 50%. Nitrile sealing compounds rich in ACN content are resistant to fuels and oils. Low ACN content increases the suitability of nitrile O-rings in low temperature applications. Nitrile O-rings are resistant to chemicals, oils, greases, and many hydrocarbons. NBR is not resistant to chlorinated and aromatic hydrocarbons, polar solvents, non-flammable hydraulic fluids, and glycol-based brake fluids. Nitrile compounds also exhibit low resistance to aging, weathering, and ozone.

Hydrogenated Nitrile (HNBR)Hydrogenated nitrile compounds are generally produced by hydrogenating nitrile. The hydrogenation process enhances the mechanical properties of the elastomer. HNBR’s media resistance can be compared to that of nitrile. At moderate temperatures, HNBR O-rings are resistant to base and salt solutions as well as dilute acids. These materials can sustain service temperatures as high as 180°C in oil. Fully saturated HNBR grades have good resistance to ozone. HNBR elastomers are not compatible with polar solvents, chlorinated hydrocarbons, and strong acids.

Polyacrylate (ACM)Polyacrylate or acrylic rubber O-rings are widely used in automotive sealing applications, as they are resistant to transmission fluids and most engine oils. Even at elevated temperatures, ACM elastomers perform well in applications, involving hot oils, lubricants, and petroleum solvents. In addition, ACM exhibits good resistance to ozone, oxidation, as well as vegetable fats. Acrylic rubber compounds are not as good as nitrile in cold flexibility and water compatibility. They are not resistant to water, glycols alkali, alcohols esters, and aromatic hydrocarbons.

Tetrafluoroethylene / Propylene (TFE/P)Tetrafluoroethylene / propylene elastomers (Aflas®) are noted for their exceptional chemical and thermal resistance. O-rings made from TFE/P are suitable for use with alkaline solutions, amine corrosion inhibitors, and high pH media. TFE/P O-rings are also compatible with steam, hot water, as well as pulp and paper liquors. Chlorinated solvents, ethers, and aromatic hydrocarbons can affect the performance of TFE/P O-rings.

Silicone (VMQ)The physiologically harmless nature and good insulating properties of silicone rubber materials make them best suited for sealing applications in the drug and food industries. As compared to other sealing materials, VMQ elastomers have low gas permeability and tensile strength. However, they have excellent resistance to weathering, aging, and ozone. The low abrasion resistance of VMQ elastomers restricts their use in dynamic sealing applications. VMQ materials are generally not resistant to solvents, oils, dilute sodium hydroxide, and concentrated acids. Silicone O-rings are suitable for continuous use in dry air temperatures up to 232°C. The elasticity of VMQ compares well with conventional elastomer materials.

Ethylene Propylene (EPM, EPDM)Ethylene propylene materials are suitable for use in applications having operating temperatures between -54°C and +150°C. These materials are noted for their high resistance to phosphate ester-type hydraulic fluids. Ethylene propylene elastomers are classified into peroxide-cured and sulfur-cured material types. Peroxide-cured EPDM elastomers have low compression sets and are suited for high temperature applications. Plus, there are special grades of EPDM that are suitable for use with glycol-based brake fluids. EPDM O-rings are generally resistant to detergents, hot water, steam, and caustic potash solutions. They are unsuitable for applications, involving oils, fuels, and lubricants.

Fluoroelastomers (FKM)Fluoroelastomers have excellent resistance to chemicals, high temperature, and mineral oils. Other key benefits of FKM materials include low gas permeability as well as high resistance to ozone and aging. Viton®, Dyneon®, and Tecnoflon® are some examples of proprietary fluoroelastomers. Standard grades of FKM are resistant to non-flammable fluids, organic solvents, and fuels. Besides standards grades, a number of special FKM materials with different fluorine and monomer compositions are formulated for diverse sealing applications. In static sealing applications, FKM O-rings perform well at temperatures down to -46°C. For dynamic applications, the lowest service temperature of FKM materials range from -15°C to -18°C. FKM materials are generally not compatible with glycol-based brake fluids, polar solvents, steam, and hot water.

To source and purchase an o-ring for your application, please check out http://www.Zycon.com for a comprehensive list of manufacturers and suppliers.

About the Author

Ron Bargman, president of Zycon.com, has been fascinated and involved with the engineering and manufacturing processes required to turn ideas into products for over 30 years. Through Zycon, he is able to transfer his passion for the industry by assisting engineers, designers and inventors find the services, parts and components that they need to succeed.

Article by Asem Eltaher

Have you ever thought desperately about the fact of how to get your motorcycle finance very easily? You must be looking for ways about how to finance a motorcycle with ease. Looking out for ways to finance a bike can be a tiring task. But, there are various ways to find the best finance deals for motorcycles as per how much amount you own.

How does a motorcycle loan differ from other loans?

A motorcycle rider loan is very much similar to a car loan. Just one difference being is that there are not many banks or financial institutions, which are ready to offer you motorcycle loans. But, these motorcycle loans are now becoming easily available with some institutions that feel that it is a specialty loan.

Following the tips given below, you can get the best loan for your motorcycle:

A) Always check out, if your company is offering motorcycle finance to its employees.

If a motorcycle is an essential for you in order to commute from home to your office and vice versa, then your employer may be able to pay up for some of the expenses. You should be able to convince your employer to pay for the motorcycle expenses by ensuring him that you will do some of the deliveries using it. This might solve your purpose well.

B) Know how much amount you have in order to purchase the new motorcycle:

Another thing you need to do is to figure out the amount of money you have in order to invest in the motorcycle. Do you have cash saved up or can you arrange some ready cash from different sources? First, figure out what you can do to arrange for financing the motorcycle.

What is the icing on the cake now?

A large number of motorcycle finance companies do not require application fees. This can help in saving some money. However, there are some agencies that need a down payment.

Which is the right option for you?

As a matter of fact, online finance leasing has several benefits such as having a low APR. Adding to this, shopping over the internet saves you both efforts and time to go to every loan provider. Also, you should know that an online process can actually take just 15 minutes to give you the required loan for buying a motorcycle.

What is my most important tip for you?

Rather than buying an expensive motorcycle, try going in for a more affordable one that has all the features you need. You can even try purchasing a used motorcycle, which can make it easier to get good financing options as compared to the brand new ones.

What must you do now?

Practically, gaining Knowledge of how to avail finance options for your motorcycle can help you in repairing your credit rating. In this context, you should conduct a deep research and opt for the loan that is customized to your needs. Just do your research well so as to get the best loans suiting your needs.

About the Author

Did you know that an auto car loan can destroy over 30% of your earnings? Do you have the ingenuity to finance a car using the lazy way? Then, discover right now simple and idiot proof secrets for FREE at:=> http://www.your-online-info.com/finance/