Top 5 Motorcycle Life Hacks (Part 1)
D.I.Y Waterproof Tank Bag
First up , we’re going to make ourselves a waterproof tank bag for 25 cents.
I’ve got this large ziplock, which I spent the quarter on. And then I got these four magnets for free. They came as a spare set with an old tank bag, but you could just nick the magnets off your fridge. Raid the freebies at some Real Estate office … whatever.
So, I put the bag on my tank, stick a magnet in each corner, and I’m done. There’s a waterproof tank bag, I can put my phone in it to read text messages at a stoplight. I can stick a map in there to follow – whatever.
Waterproof Riding Gloves Hack
Now, we’re going to hack my old riding gloves. These Klim Adventures aren’t waterproof, never were. But let’s say I hit a rain storm. Maybe it’s too hot to put on my waterproof gloves. Or maybe I don’t have any.
Then I just take these rubber mechanic gloves, put them on, and because they’re so slim, I can fit my riding gloves overtop. Now I have a 100% waterproof liner and instead of spending a 150 bucks on new gloves, I just spent a few cents.
Bear in mind that water will still leak through the outer fabric, so this solution won’t be very warm. But still better than if I had no waterproof lining at all.
Helmet Face Anti-Fog Hack
Now , we’re going to hack my helmet face shield with Head and Shoulders Shampoo.
When this was brand new, it had an anti-fog coating. But after two years of riding, the coating has worn off and look – *breathes on visor* - it fogs up easily.
So, I’m going to take a bit of water and clean the visor really good. We’re going to buff it later so I don’t want any grit on there that will scratch the lens. Okay, now it’s clean so I dry it off. Then I just take a bit of dandruff shampoo, and rub it all over here with my fingers. I want to let that sit for a few minutes so it makes a really good film all over the lens.
Alright, so it’s been five minutes thanks to the magic of video. Now I take some clean cloth or paper towel, and I buff out the shampoo until it’s clear again.
And look - *breathes on visor* - no fog.
So far as I can tell, this works because Dandruff shampoo minimizes the surface tension of water and is also hydrophilic . Because of that, water wants to spread across the visor rather than clumping into little droplets, which is what we call fog. Oh by the way, shaving cream will work for this too.
Traffic Lights Sensor Hack
Now , remember those magnets we used to make our tank bag?
Well there’s an easy way to store them that also hacks traffic lights. [6] As we all know, sitting at a red light is brutal for motorcyclists. Sometimes our bikes aren’t big enough to trigger the induction loop in the pavement, so the light doesn’t know we’re there and it stays red forever.
So , when I’m not using my 25-cent tank bag, I stick the magnets to my skid plate. Because traffic sensors are triggered by electromagnetic flux, all of a sudden the red light thinks my teeny tiny motorcycle is a semi-truck full of wrought iron! And voila , the light changes.
One thing though – make sure to stick your magnets to the side of the skid plate rather than right underneath. That way if you go off-roading and scrape over a log, you won’t lose all your magnets.
Hair Elastic Reminder Hack
And finally , my fifth motorcycle life hack, is the hair elastic.
Maybe I’ve just put a disc lock onto my front tire, and I don’t want to forget about it and try to drive away because that can be a really expensive mistake. So , instead of spending 10 bucks on a disc lock reminder cord, I just use the hair elastic to close my front brake, like that. Now I can’t ride away without remembering why I put this elastic here.
Another use! If you’ve ever done a ferry crossing on your motorcycle, you’ll know that it’s a bit sketchy. I always want to leave my bike to go up on deck, but I know that when the boat turns or hits a wave, it might be enough to cause the motorcycle to roll a bit.
Even if I leave my bike in gear, the bit of play in the rear tire can be enough to knock it off the kickstand. So I put a hair elastic over the front brake, and my bike is more secure.
That’s it for my top five motorcycle life hacks. Thank you very much for watching.