Monthly Archives: April 2025

Motorcycle Batteries Maintenance

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Driving your own motorcycle can be more convenient and practical than driving a regular car or vehicle. Yet when the motorcycle becomes dysfunctional, repair costs may also be expensive and can put a dent in your budget. Costly motorcycle repairs may however not be needed if you can properly maintain and care for your motorcycle.

Motorcycles consist of various components which altogether work to make the vehicle serviceable. One component that is essential in motorcycle operation is the motorcycle battery. Therefore your battery is one of those essential parts that you need to maintain. To do this, you need to understand details about you battery and how it operates in order to power up your motorcycle.Motorcycle batteries are of two types: conventional and maintenance free. Each type implements its own charging set, troubleshooting and maintenance.

In caring for motorcycles, you may need proper tools like jumper cables, battery tester, multimeter, hydrometer and battery analyzer. The jumper cables are what you need to use to start up the motor when it has low charge. The tester is for checking if the battery is charged or discharged. The multimeter which can measure resistance, current and voltage will help you know if it is time for recharging. The syringe hydrometer is for precisely showing the gravity reading of conventional batteries. The battery acid and the water content are displayed by the hydrometer so you will know if it needs replenishment. Then the battery analyzer, with just a single push of a button, can tell you if your battery is already full of charge.

Checking the battery, regardless if it is maintenance free or conventional, needs to be done once in each month. Conventional motorcycle batteries would require the water to be topped off so the needed electrolyte balance may be restored. The water will evaporate as the vehicle operates and so electrolytes will be produced. You need to inspect the battery and all its connections one time every month or so. Grimes surrounding the battery must be cleaned particularly the dirt buildup on the battery connections.

A common problem with the battery is when there exists no power in the motorcycle. Your horn and your lights would not function so you need to look first at the fuse. This fuse is located on the red-colored lead near to your battery. Replace the broken fuse.

When you start the motorcycle and there is an intermittent loss of power, you should look at the terminals of your battery as they may be loose. If they are, tighten the connections.

If you hear a clicking noise as you start your motorcycle, this would mean a battery whose charge is too low, it cannot even turn over your vehicles starter. The clicking sound is produced by the solenoid activated by the battery but the power is inadequate to deal with the starter. Your battery charge can also be indicated by a starter that turns quite slowly .

How To Choose Custom Car Paint Urethane Vs. Acrylic Automotive Paint

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There are many factors to consider when choosing the best automotive paint for your everyday vehicle or classic car restoration project. To most car collectors, the look and color of a car paint is the most important factor. Other things to keep in mind include cost, application difficulty level, length of drying time, possible health hazards, and base-coat and finishing options. For simplicity’s sake, I’ll narrow them down to the top four most important differences: cost, difficulty level, durability and purpose. Acrylic and urethane are two of the most common automotive paints, yet they have very important distinctions. This article will help you choose the right car paint for your car project.

Cost

Cost is the only practical area in which acrylic enamel car paint has the clear advantage over urethane car paint, which costs more than twice as much. Acrylic lacquer paints cost up to $250 a gallon, and acrylic enamel costs only $100-$150 per gallon.

Difficulty Level

Application: If properly cut and polished, the finished appearance of acrylic car paint is unbeatable. Urethane paint will give your car a “fresh look,” and is easier to apply than acrylic enamel, which can only be applied with high-pressure spray guns. Urethane car paint can be applied with low-pressure, high-volume spray guns, which are easier to control and spray larger drops for better surface coverage, but are more prone to runs. Acrylic enamel automotive paint does not completely cover the primer, thus the primer color matters more when using it. On the other han, urethane paint covers the primer completely, so it does not require a similarly tinted primer. Acrylic paints can be done in a home garage, and applied in a slightly cooler ambient temperature, but no colder than 18’C (65’F).

Drying Time: Acrylic car paint has a much longer drying time, 1-2 days, as opposed to the short 2-3 hours required for most urethane paints, cutting down on time between coat applications accumulation of dust. For urethane car paint, most follow a base-coat with a clear coat. NOTE: some clear coats tint the color, especially if it is black or white. In this instance, one may prefer to use a single-stage urethane, and forgo the clear coat for the sake of the color. With urethane paint, wet-sand is also an option before applying a clear coat. Acrylic car paints require more coats (6-8), and must always be cut and polished, after letting it harden for several weeks. Single pack acrylic primers and fillers tend to shrink and sink back on repairs, so only use them on a final, even prime coat, and give it as long as possible to harden before wet sanding. Both acetone, thinners and fuel spillage damage acrylic paints, and they require more maintenance to keep your car finish shiny. In contrast, if a urethane paint job goes well, it needs no buffing, and un-buffed paint is the longest lasting and easiest to keep clean. If it is baked on, the car can be assembled the next day.

CAUTION: Urethane paints are toxic, as they contain isocyanate, airborne compounds that enter the body through the lungs and skin. Always use safety gear (goggles, mask and gloves) and proper ventilation when working with urethane paint. Acrylic automotive paints are less toxic because they are water-based, so the resin adheres using water as its primary agent, whereas urethane depends on a solvent.

Durability

Urethane finishes are much more durable than acrylic enamel finishes. There are many factors that vary the exact length of time a finish lasts, but urethane finishes, when properly maintained, generally last 5-10 years longer than acrylic enamel finishes. Urethane paints are activated by hardeners, so after they are mixed, they must be used promptly or the product is wasted. Acrylic enamel paint is prone to more chipping, cracking and general wear and tear, since it does not feature the hardeners.

Purpose

Acrylic enamel car paint is typically used by professional car restorers who want to paint a classic car to exactly the original specifications, which requires acrylic enamel paint on many antique cars. For example, acrylic enamel automotive paint is better for replicating factory orange-peel paint jobs, a bumpy surface finish. Both auto manufacturers and car restoration professionals have now switched to urethane paint for most auto body work, due to it’s practical advantages over acrylic enamel. It has become the standard in the auto industry because urethane car paint provides a quicker and better looking finish.

Dedicated Motorcycle Parking Reduces Cost, Congestion

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Traffic is the bane of all commuters, and once you reach your destination you have to park. In most parts of the world, motorcycles and scooters are what many people turn to in order to make the commute faster, easier, and cheaper. The U.S. is not most parts of the world, but were getting better.

When a commuter rides to work on his/her motorcycle, they accomplish several things. They make the highways and streets less congested, because they take up less space. Their lighter vehicles do less damage to the road surface. And when they park, they take up less parking spacesometimes.

Its that parking aspect that some communities have taken to improve by designating certain parking areas specifically for motorcycles. And yet, in other communities, its almost as if they want to discourage people from riding. Thats how different the laws are.

Lets say youre making your commute on your slim, light, Suzuki GSX-R600. If you work in Edmonton, WA, you can park alongside a lot of other bikes in special, no-charge areas. Not only do you save the money you would otherwise pay to park, but with six or more bikes fitting easily into the space one car would use, youre helping other motorists find their parking spaces more easily.

In other cities, however, you would face an entirely different proposition parking your bike. Some cities require all vehicles to park parallel to the curb in areas designated for parallel parking. That might leave you with room for only two bikes is that space, and thats if the city allows more than one vehicle per parking space. Some do not, even when youre talking motorcycles.

The absurdity of that mandate was demonstrated a couple years ago when one city police department started coming down hard on bikes they considered improperly parked. The bikers banded together and appealed to the city to change their rules but no relief was provided. So a plan was hatched. Early one morning, before most commuters were arriving at work, several hundred motorcyclists came in very early and parked one bike to a parking space all over the downtown area. As far as you could see there were acres of unused space between these solitary motorcycles but nowhere at all for people in cars to park. The city quickly changed its ordinances.

While some four-wheeled motorists might complain that it is unfair for motorcyclists to get preferential parking, the fact is, designated motorcycle parking can be created using curb space that is currently going unused. In Denver the citys traffic department was hard at work on a designated motorcycle parking plan when the recession hit. Although it would have cost very little, with budgets in deficit, any non-essential costs were eliminated and the project stalled before it got off the ground.

Nevertheless, the department was working on an eminently sensible plan. City blocks are frequently marked with paint to designate parking spaces, but often there is not enough room near the corners for another space, even though safety research might show that parking would be OK closer to the corner. Voila. Put a little paint on the asphalt and designate this space for motorcycles. Its just that simple. Now commuters who own motorcycles are encouraged to ride rather than drive because they have convenient, free parking, and that helps everyone else in cars. Its a win-win. Plus, motorists who see motorcyclists getting such a nice benefit might decide its time for them to buy that bike theyve wanted for so long and start riding to work, too.