Insurance. What a pain in the aft. It’s kind of a way of life these days, but that doesn’t make it any easier. This probably won’t make it easier either, but it’s something important to think about.
Getting motorcycle insurance is pretty much a given, right? But what about un-insured, under-insured motorist, or even bodily injury insurance?
Two very different topics when comparing a cager to a biker. In a car, you’re not as likely to get (as badly) hurt in a light to medium crash. Not so on a bike: Your chances of injury is many times higher. For that reason, you should carry bodily injury insurance, (make sure your current M/C insurance covers this, or at least your personal health insurance does) and UM insurance. If you get whacked by an un-insured motorist, you’re on your own if you elected not to carry UM insurance. (Not all states allow you to decline UM insurance, mine does)
Before you incur large medical bills from a M/C accident, make sure you’re covered.

I’ve been around bikers a long, long time, and I’ve learned how to approach just about any group of riders in many situations. You can find people willing to talk with you or even ride with you almost everywhere you find bikers. Including places like meet and greets, fuel stops, charity runs, bike nights, parties, local bars and even stop lights.

With the correct persuasion, you can approach just about anyone. As far as groups of people are concerned, bikers are one of the easiest of any group I’ve encountered. They can also be the toughest, but you can often see those few from a mile away. Don’t let the fact that you’re riding a Sportster keep you from approaching people.

The easiest way to approach a biker, just about any biker from sport riders to off-roaders, and in many cases club members, is to just ride up to them and say “hey, what’s up?”

That’s it. Maybe ask them something about their bike, or their trip. Most bikers love talking about bikes, especially their bikes. Once started, many bikers, including myself, will ramble on about their bikes or riding as long as time permits. Often longer.

If you see a group of bikes stopped getting gas or stopped at a diner or in a parking lot, stop in and say “hey, what’s up?” Sometimes it’s even acceptable (with the proper approach) to tag along during a ride. Ride in to the back of the pack, and nod at the last guy as if to say “hey, what’s up?”

I know it’s Friday and I’m supposed to be joking and laughing and posting up funny stuff, but I missed this yesterday…

A Mexican businessman owns the “Sportster” trademark in Mexico and won a 4 year fight against Harley-Davidson which grants him a 40% share of every Harley Davidson Sportster sold in Mexico since 1989.

Ouch!!

Alberto Lenz is the rightful owner of the “Sportster” trademark in Mexico. Harley’s liability could be around $3 million in royalties for every 1,000 Sportsters sold.

But here’s the kicker…

Interestingly enough, Lenz had once offered the Sportster trademark for sale to the MoCo for a sum of $100K. But Harley refused, opting to instead to ignore the trademark dispute and let Lenz try his luck in the Mexican courts.

Still working on verifying this via US reports. Stay tuned!