Prepare to put your bike in storage for the winter months but do not be tempted to regularly start it up. Instead, get it warmed up on your last ride as this dries the condensation from the exhaust systm. Try to fill your tank right to the top just before you get home as unleaded petrol can evaporate when in contact with air and leave a residue that may clog-up your carbs. For the same reason, turn off the fuel tap and run the engine until it stalls, then drain any remaining petrol from the float bowls. If the bike is more than four years old, consider emptying the tank instead because water can accumulate in the base of the tank and may cause enough rust to create a leak. The best way to do this is to unbolt it from the bike and after draining, turn it upside down, it'll also give you the chance to clean a load of otherwise inaccessible areas.

Many years ago when I got hooked by motorcycles, I started to hear a lot about two and four stroke engines... It seemed there were (and there still are) strong opinions in pro and con of each of the engine types.

As Internet wasn't available, and as I was worried about other aspects or motorcycle riding back then, I left that question unanswered for a long time.

If this is your case or if your are interested in these two kind of internal combustion engines, in the next few lines I hope to give you a few fast answers and some resources to get more in depth information.

Just keep reading...

This article should be on every motorcycle web site in the UK. I am writing to inform readers of the terrible position many trainee motorcyclists and training schools will be in come October 2008 when the new motorcycle test commences.

You may think this does not affect you unless you are a new rider wanting to get your licence. Think again it is going to affect the whole bike industry. If it becomes too expensive and too difficult to get a licence then the trickle of new bikers will dry up. Look at the housing market take out your first time buyers and it cascades up the chain affecting everyone, owners, trainers, dealers, publishers, even manufacturers.

Since one of the things I love best is riding, I end up thinking a lot about it and about why I do it and why I like it. It seems to be one of those things that mystifies a lot of people.

How many times have you been told how dangerous it is? Bikes are unstable, You don't have any protection. Drivers can't see you. If you go down you can die from the road rash even if you don't break anything. It goes on and on. The endless list of horrors. The stories about somebody who such and so knew who spent 6 months in traction, got turned into a vegetable, whatever.

Well, it's all true. There are reasons why insuring your ride is expensive. Mostly having to do with medical costs and theft, I expect. But this is one of those odd ways of viewing the world that people use to put down the things they aren't interested in doing.