Site Updates, Cool New Stuff

New Story Added
Melissa M from Walton Hills tells the harrowing details about her first bike run.
Read her tale

New Articles Added
Motorcycle Training Part 1: Tips for the New Rider
If you are thinking about throwing a leg over your own motorcycle, there are a few things you may wish to consider first.
Read more…

Motorcycle Training Part 2: Before You Get On The Road
Once you have taken all the steps towards learning to ride a motorcycle, there are some things to consider before actually getting on the road.
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What Is A Biker?
In recent years, motorcycles have gained in popularity as more and more new riders take to the road, and with that has come a growing controversy. It's a simple contradiction in terms and it's also very real.
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Motorcycle Safety: Top Ten Tips
Things to think about regarding motorcycle safety.
Read more…

What's New in the World of Motorcycles and Riding…

Motorcycle Boutique Hotel Offers Trial Rates
The industry's first modern boutique hotel geared toward business travelers and motorcycle enthusiasts alike is offering a special "Rev It Up" rate. Guests can test drive Milwaukee's first true boutique hotel at a special introductory rate from October 1 through October 31, 2008.
Read the full article

Rider Stopped for Going Nearly Three Times the Speed Limit
Veteran officers were surprised by what they saw Thursday afternoon coming over the viaduct on 11th street. They clocked a motorcycle at 83 miles an hour in the 30 mile an hour zone. In the city.
Read the article

Land of Harley to Squelch Loud Motorcycles… What?
In Milwaukee, the home of Harley-Davidson, you're guilty until proven innocent if anywone says your bike is too loud. Myrtle Beach is trying to ban motorcycle rallies, and a double whammy in Massachusetts. What is our world coming to?
Read the article

Motorcycle Industry Becoming More Female Friendly
This article claims that more women are riding these days (which they are), and that it is partly due to marketing as Harley-Davidson is now targeting women as well as men. Are they insane? Marketing? It's about time the industry became more female friendly; lady riders have adapted to man-sized male-geared products long enough.
Read the article

2008-2009 Cycle World International Motorcycle Show Schedule Announced
Advanstar Communications— a leading provider of integrated media solutions to the automotive aftermarket, off-road and powersports industries— has announced this year’s schedule for the 28th annual Cycle World International Motorcycle Shows presented by Toyota.
Read the article and check out the 2008-2009 schedule

Thousands of BMW Motorcycles Recalled
Several 2007 and 2008 models are being recalled for problems with their fuel systems, gas delivery, hoses, lines, piping, fitting, brake issues, and high temperature operating issues.
Read the article with model specific information

Survey of the States: Motorcycle Safety Programs
The Goverors Highway Safety Asssociation (GHSA) surveyed each state regarding its motorcycle training programs, motorcycle vehicle registrations, accidents, fatalities, helmet use, other programs and resources in place. You can download a PDF of your state's response. This article has a general summary, but you can follow the link below to get the report for your state.
Read your state's survey response

Motorcycle Sales Are Up Because of High Gas Prices
It's not surprising that people are buying motorcycles for commuting and such because gas mileage is (for the most part) better with two wheels than four, but it seems that smaller motorcycles are the ones in demand.
Read the article

Tight Economy Hits Harley's Luxury Models
Bike sales may be up for smaller displacement machines, but Harley is taking a hit on it's higher price tag models, and more layoffs are imminent.
Read the article

New 3 Wheel Vehicle Approved in Ohio
A three-wheeled vehicle, manufactured in Northeast Ohio has been approved by the state legislature. Called the NMG (which stands for No More Gas) this conveyance has two wheels in the front and one in the back and is all electric. Visually, it is very similar to the Velorex Oskar (1953-1971) that used 125cc and 250cc motorcycle engines. The NMG will be classified as a motorcycle in Ohio, but it is still unclear what type of operator licensing will be required. Naturally, safety issues are cited, but from a motorcyclist's standpoint, this may be a comforting glimpse of the future on the road. Northern winters aside, as more commuters take to the road on motorcycles and scooters (and perhaps the NMG) because of rising gas prices (which goes hand in hand with record oil company profits) and environmental concerns, perhaps the road will become safer for bikers. The stagnant sales of SUVs and pickup trucks might signal a tendency towards fewer of them operating on the road in the future, although that line of thinking may be a bit premature. Afterall, motorists seemed to have learned nothing from the gas "shortages" back in the early seventies. At that time, drivers moved away from their big gas guzzling cars (lovingly referred to by some as "boats"), but the trend was somewhat short lived, as the most recent SUV craze indicates. Still, today's reasons for change are a bit more compelling, and let's face it, we have to start somewhere.
Read the entire article and watch the video on the NMG

More Rider Deaths and Helmet Law Repeals Appear to be Linked
As more and more states do away with mandatory helmet laws, rider deaths have increased alarmingly. Pennsylvania repealed its helmet law in 2003, and since then, 52% of riders involved in crashes wore helmets, as compared to 82% before the change. In addition, hospitalizations from head injuries rose 78% and deaths from head injuries rose 66%.
Read the entire article here

Female Bikers Want to Have Fun, and at Top Speed
Our numbers are growing. As if this wasn't already obvious, more women are taking to the road on motorcycles and many are learning to ride after forty. Grown kids, successful careers, and growing confidence all play a part in encouraging the female rider to biker up and hit the road.
Read the entire article about some special lady riders

For All Motorcycle Riders…

Welcome to CruiserTales! This is the place for YOUR riding stories. This site is user driven and free! There is never any cost to submit a story, so tell us where you've been on your bike, what you've encountered, who you've met, and anything else that happened along the way. Sure, as riders, sometimes we might have a destination, but there are plenty of times we just pick a direction and go. Sometimes that's the best way to go. A few years back, BMW's Motorcycle division had a tag line that went something like this:

Happiness is measured in miles… from home.

Boy, if that just doesn't say it all! And it's so easy to get hooked on riding! The wind in your face, the gentle hills, leaning into the curves. Riding next to the water. Sometimes on a hot hot day, you're almost roasting, sitting over a hot engine, when you go down into a dip in the road where cooler air collects. A cool dip. Riding a motorcycle just feels so free! It's an amazing feeling, almost indescribable to those who have never experienced it, but definitely worth sharing. Riding experiences are unique and yet somehow universal. We see, feel, smell, and experience so much more in the saddle, things that are imperceptible from any other type of vehicle.

CruiserTales is open to all. It doesn't matter what kind of bike you ride, whether you call yourself a biker or an enthusiast, or whether you consider yourself "in the life" or you're just a "weekender," if it happened on the road while on a ride, it has a place here. The open arms policy does not only apply to "authors," it also applies to readers, so please read the Terms of Use page so we can keep the content friendly to all who care to stop by for a virtual ride!

This site is still new, but much is planned for the future. While your riding stories are the main focus, there are also helpful resources here. The Learn To Ride page has links to pages with listing for Basic Rider Courses listed by state, informative and fun motorcycle videos, collections of tutorials, and motorcycle safety information. The Cool Links page has links to motorcycle related sites, women's riding organizations, and magazines. The Site Map page has a complete outline of the site and all it has to offer.

We'd like to hear from you. Send us your riding stories, rider course experiences, or anything else pertaining to riding or motorcycles. The Submission Guidelines page has all the information you need to submit a story. Welcome to CrusierTales, the place for your story.

©2008 The L.W. Wallace Co., Inc.