Top 5 Motorcycle Life Hacks (Part 2)
D.I.Y Anti-Theft
So , let’s say I need to park my bike in the lot behind an apartment building. That’s exactly where motorcycle thieves go shopping so let’s hack my motorcycle to make it impossible to start.
On my old bike, it was super easy to yank the wire off the spark plug so it wouldn’t start. With this V-Strom, not so much. So I go underneath the seat, into the fuse box, and remove the main fuse. Clever thieves will know how to use another fuse in this slot to start the bike, but it might be enough to outwit an idiot.
Another idea is to remove the clutch lever. It can normally be done with the stock toolkit and three minutes of work. Again, a clever thief will return with a lever of their own, but it’s a good enough deterrent for one-time use.
Baby wipes
Now , our second life hack might be familiar to the dads out there. Baby wipes!
We all know that cleaning motorcycle gear is tricky, especially in the middle of a long trip. Helmet liners often require a special cleaner, because soapy chemicals can damage the resins in the shell and EPS foam. And with your leathers, regular soap can cause them to dry out, crack and discolor.
But baby wipes will do the trick in a pinch. Most people are rather protective of their children, so baby wipes are made from the gentlest chemicals. Plus, these are designed to moisturize while they clean, so they won’t dry out your leathers.
Throw a little packet like this in your sidecase, and you’ll go through them in no time. I use mine to clean my seat too, my windshield, to wash my hands when I’m camping … they’re super handy.
Bungee Net
The third life hack is a luggage solution.
Hard cases are great, but they’re only a fixed volume and my life doesn’t always fit in here. What if I need to carry something long, like this 3-man tent? Bungee net. What if I need to carry something round, like this soccer ball? Bungee net. What if I need to carry something square, like this birthday present for my mom? Bungee net.
You get the picture. This Dowco Guardian Universal Net is one of the most practical luggage solutions I know of and it only 18 bucks. You could probably find something even cheaper at Canadian Tire.
Newspaper Warmth
Now , we’re going to hack my motorcycle jacket to make it warmer, using this newspaper.
I start by crumpling up sheets of the newspaper and stuffing them into all the cargo pockets and the spaces in the mesh liner, into the armour pockets too … everywhere I can find some space. The newspaper creates lots of little air pockets, which acts as insulation to keep me warm. Newspaper is also great at absorbing moisture before it gets to my body, which is handy if it’s raining.
Once I have the jacket pockets stuffed, I put it on and zip it up a few inches. Then I can stuff more newspaper in here. I want to get it around my torso as much as possible because if I can keep my core warm, then my body will send heat to my arms and legs too.
And that’s it … one gas station raid for an old newspaper, and I now have a decent thermal jacket.
Seasonal Deals
My last life hack has to do with shopping.
The powersports market runs on supply and demand, just like everything else. That’s why we pay more for motorcycle gear than we do for snowmobile stuff, because there’s more people riding motorcycles. That’s also why ADV gear costs more than dirt bike equipment, because all the dentists on R1200GS’s can afford to pay 1000 dollars for a jacket, while all the 14-year-old motocrossers cannot.
So here’s the life hack: there’s so much crossover in the powersport industry that you can easily jump to the cheaper side of the fence.
Case in point – the Scott AC Premium GTX Glove. We have Gore-Tex, heavy-duty nylon with a leather palm, reflective accents, 200g thinsulate… so far as anyone could tell, this is a premium cold-weather motorcycling glove.
But because it’s technically for snowmobiles and it doesn’t say Alpinestars on it, this glove costs 100 dollars instead of 200.
I could list a billion other examples, but I might as well let you enjoy the treasure hunt. Hint hint: the snowmobile, ATV and dirt bike market is a goldmine for good deals. And that’s it for my second round of Top 5 motorcycle life hacks. I’ll see you guys in round three.