Ryan Urlacher, Author at Law Abiding Biker Podcast

Install a Ricochet Offroad Skid Plate on a Kawasaki KLR 650

January 29, 2020 By Ryan Urlacher Leave a Comment

There are a handful of things you should do right away to your Kawasaki KLR 650. One of those things is to get rid of the flimsy stock skid plate as it offers little protection. If you plan on riding off-road at all you'll want to protect the case and underside of your KLR with something solid and well built.

I installed a Ricochet Offroad Skid Plate on my Kawasaki KLR 650 and have no complaints. In this video, I review this skid plate and show you how to install it on a 2018 KLR, but it should be the same for many years. I also installed a Tusk low-profile magnetic oil drain plug at the same time, as the OEM drain bolt will hang out the bottom and could get sheered off.

This plate is made from either 5/32″ or 3/16″ thick aluminum alloy plating and is shaped to give maximum protection to your engine, frame, and cases thanks to the extended “ears” on the sides. Mount the plate onto your bike using the included steel clamps and you’ll still be able to access important areas thanks to the maintenance cutouts in the plate. You can get the Ricochet Offroad Skid Plate in anodized black or silver.

You can support us and purchase this skid plate from our store!

Specs:

Made from 5/32″ or 3/16″ Aircraft Grade Aluminum
“Ears” design protects vulnerable engine components
Clear Anodized Finish or anodized black
Mounted with super tough steel clamps
Cutouts for easy maintenance

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Video-How to Install Shifter Linkage on Harley-Davidson-Replace & Review-Kuryakyn

January 25, 2020 By Ryan Urlacher 5 Comments

Video-In this completely free video, we show you how to easily install new replacement shift linkage on your Harley-Davidson motorcycle. We also show you how to remove your old linkage. The stock Harley shift linkage can often fail and leave you stranded. You need to get good quality shift linkage that uses sturdy & reliable heim joints. We used Kuryakyn shift linkage in this video.

ANOTHER ISSUE-Check out our Harley Shifter Shaft/Arm Video

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LAB-228-Winterizing Your Motorcycle-Best Practices

January 24, 2020 By Ryan Urlacher 2 Comments

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There are many misconceptions about what to do when winterizing your motorcycle and we are going to clear it up in this podcast episode & article. It's actually a very easy process and easy to do. (Some links/pictures are affiliate links. No additional cost to you, but if you click through and make a purchase we get a small commission. It helps support us)

Battery

When winterizing your motorcycle, you don't need to remove the battery if you don't want to as it's just extra work. Unless there is no power where you store your motorcycle. Whether the battery is on or off the bike, make sure you plug the battery into a reliable “float” charger/maintainer/tender that reads feedback voltage from the battery and tops it off as needed. Don't use a “trickle” charger that constantly feeds a small amount of current to the battery nonstop as that will overcharge the battery.

Don't start your engine up every now and then to “warm it up” after winterizing your motorcycle

This is a very common mistake and we already released podcast episode #130 going over the reasons not to do this in detail. A cold start is hard on the engine. Understand, that if you aren’t running the engine under load up to full operating temperature, moisture condenses out of the air into places water doesn’t belong.

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Unless you are planning on going for an actual decent ride to burn off moisture and charge that battery up, then you are better off just not starting it at all.

Further, when it's cold outside the gasoline is less likely to evaporate. Your motorcycle purposely runs “rich” and compensates for this initially by adding more gasoline to the air-vapor mixture. That's the problem, you're actually putting extra fuel into the combustion chamber to make it burn and some of it can get onto the cylinder walls.

Gasoline is a great solvent and it can actually wash the oil off the cylinder walls if you run your motor in those cold idle conditions for an extended period of time. Over time, that can have a detrimental effect on the lubrication and life of things like piston rings and cylinder liners. This can have a serious effect on the overall operating life of your motorcycle engine.

Don't drain your fuel tank

Leave the fuel tank full when winterizing your motorcycle and add a quality fuel stabilizer additive. If you empty the tank it's vulnerable to corrosion and dried out seals.

For carbureted bikes, be sure to turn the petcock off and drain the carb bowls.

Get fuel stabilizer here

Check your antifreeze on water-cooled bikes

Just check the anti-freeze and make sure that it is not all water or that it has too high of a watery consistency. You can use a simple affordable Anti-Freeze Hydrometer to test what temps your anti-freeze is good for.

Get an Anti-Freeze Hydrometer here

Use a good quality tarp or cover when winterizing your motorcycle.

If storing your motorcycle indoors, then a good quality dust cover will do. If outside, then a completely waterproof and breathable motorcycle cover is recommended. Make sure the outdoor cover fits well and will not blow around in the wind and rub the paint on your bike. The cover needs to breathe to allow any moisture inside the cover to escape.

Tire pressure

Before putting the motorcycle away, check the tires for proper inflation with a quality tire pressure gauge. Don't worry about flat spots forming on your tires from sitting. Rumors such as these are from the days of bias-ply car tires, which could form a flat spot overnight. Modern motorcycle tires will not form flat spots like that.

Get this awesome tire pressure gauge in our online store here

Oil Change

If your regular oil change is due at the time you are winterizing your motorcycle then certainly change your oil & filter out before storing your motorcycle. But if it's not due, then just store it with the same oil in it. Certainly, change your oil if are going to store the motorcycle for a very long period of time & not just for the winter months.

Check out our Harley, Indian, and Victory oil change and maintenance videos here

Clean your bike

Make sure you clean and detail your bike before you store it. You don't want all those bugs, road grime, and grit working away at your paint. Plus, it will be super hard to get all that grime off in the spring after storing your bike.

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Give your motorcycle a good wash and wax before storage. Below are the cleaners we use exclusively on our bikes here eat Law Abiding Biker™ Media. They have been tried and tested by us for many years.

Get Bugslide and Bike Brite cleaners in our online store here

NEW TUTORIAL VIDEO RELEASED:

How to install Harley brand heated grips on any Harley-Davidson motorcycle

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Wolfman Blackhawk Adventure Tank Bag Review & Install on a Kawasaki KLR 650

January 14, 2020 By Ryan Urlacher 5 Comments

I bought this Wolfman Blackhawk Tank Bag for my 2018 Kawasaki KLR 650 for a few reasons. I'll admit, it's a pretty expensive tank bag but once you get it in your hands I can assure you that you'll quickly realize that it's a high-quality tank bag that is going to last for a long time in adventure riding conditions.

Wolfman has a line of different size tank bags and the Blackhawk sits right in the middle with an 8-liter capacity. When strapped to my KLR, the top of the Tank Bag sits right at the top bar on my handlebars. I think it's the perfect height and it's not too bulky like some other larger tank bags. The tank bag also incorporates fore and aft flexibility allowing the rider to get the perfect bag placement on the tank.

The Wolfman Blackhawk Tank Bag comes with a universal 4 point harness for securing the bag to most adventure motorcycles. In this video, I review the tank bag and show you how to secure and mount the bag to a Kawasaki KLR 650. I found the online instructions on Wolfman's own website were outdated as are other online videos. I emailed Wolfman and they were kind in giving me updated information on how to properly mount the tank bag to a KLR.

The Wolfman Blackhawk Tank Bag has an outside pocket and an internal mesh pocket under the top. The silver interior makes it easy to see the contents of the bag. A small removable/adjustable bungee-cord across the top provides a convenient spot for gloves while fueling. I really liked that the inside of the bottom of the tank bag is padded to help protect more sensitive items I place in it.

Additionally, on top, there is a clear map pocket. Wolfman has taken the traditional map pocket and made it more useful to riders who use electronics by incorporating a strip of loop velcro material inside the pocket and they also include a strip of adhesive hook velcro to attach to your smartphone, GPS, or other electronic devices.

If you appreciate this video and information, please consider using the below affiliate link to purchase this tank bag or others. No additional cost to you, but if you make a purchase we get a small commission and it helps us continue our mission to help and entertain as many bikers as we can worldwide.

Wolfman Blackhawk Tank Bag Pricing & Availability

Other Features and Specs:

Heavy Duty 1680 Denier Ballistic Nylon construction.
Easy to find yellow cord on main opening zipper sliders.
Heavy Duty #10 YKK Main Zipper, and YKK zippers used throughout the bag.
The foam structure gives the Blackhawk Tank Bag. “Soft-Rigidity”, allowing the bag to flex.
The silver interior makes it easy to see the contents of the bag.
4 point quick-release universal mounting system.
New-style exterior removable map/clear pocket with interior “loop” strip to stabilize electronics (1 Strip of adhesive “hook”–Included).
Outside zippered pocket.
Interior zippered mesh pocket and key clip.
Reflex webbing accents and carry handle for nighttime visibility.
Non-scratch, non-skid bottom.
Built-in the USA with legendary Wolfman care and quality.
Length: Top 9″ (22 cm) Bottom: 11¼” (28cm)
Height: Front-Facing Rider- 8″ (20cm) Rear: 3 1/2″ (9cm)
Width: 7″ (17cm)
Capacity: 8 Liters

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LAB-227-The 2020 Harley Lineup & The Softail Low Rider S

January 14, 2020 By Ryan Urlacher Leave a Comment

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Harley-Davidson just released their new line-up and models for 2020. The show steeler is the new Softail Low Rider S with the 114 Milwaukee-Eight engine. It's a light little bike with a powerful motor. It has an adjustable mono-shock in the rear with inverted front forks for added handling and performance. It also has dual front disc brakes. They reduced the rake by 2 degrees for added handling.

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Harley is also working on the new concept and future bikes. The Pan America will be their first adventure-style bike and is set to release sometime in 2020. The Streetfighter is a future style sport style bike ready to carve up the streets.

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Listen in to this podcast episode as Lurch and I explain the 2020 Harley lineup and tell you what you need to know as a consumer.

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Innovative products for Harley-Davidson & Goldwing
Affordable chrome, lighting, and comfort products
Ciro 3D has a passion for design and innovation

Sponsor-RickRak

CLICK HERE
The Ultimate Motorcycle Luggage Rack Solution
Forget those messy straps and bungee cords
Go strapless with a RickRak quick attach luggage system & quality bag

New Patrons:

Jeff Dietz of Lakewood Ranch, Florida
Liam Standish of Terrytown, Louisiana
David Boswell of Coeur d'Alene, Idaho
Buddy Pike of Shawnee, Kansas
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Chris Bernhardt of Spring Valley, New York
Josh Lopshire of Battle Creek, Michigan
Clay Norman of Fort Worth, Texas

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Police Motorcycle Officer-New Cone Pattern & Training-The Chaser-Designed by Police Motor Officer Ryan Urlacher

January 11, 2020 By Ryan Urlacher 1 Comment

This is a brand new cone pattern drill I designed for an upcoming Police Motorcycle Officer Training Course. I have designed it from scratch and I am calling it “The Chaser”.

I spent quite a bit of time testing and measuring things out. I tested it all out on my Police Harley-Davidson Electra Glide. At the end of the video, I walk you through the course and give you the exact measurements and how to set it up.

This is an advanced police motorcycle cone pattern and you should be a very experienced and skilled rider before trying this at the prescribed measurements. If you're a beginner or intermediate rider, you can widen and lengthen all the cone settings.

GET A PDF DRAWING/MEASUREMENTS OF THIS CONE PATTERN HERE

The goal of this pattern is to get riders comfortable with emergency threshold braking, obstacle avoidance and quick and aggressive U-turns. This is a maneuver Police Motorcycle Officers perform daily while turning around to catch violators or to respond to collisions, just to name a few.

Once riders discover the proper turn points and get into a rhythm, it will feel awesome and will look great. If a rider does not hit the proper points and is forcing the bike it will be very difficult. It's all about full bar locks, head and eye placement, quick transitions, and quickly coming in and out of the clutch gray area in this drill.

WATCH ‘THE RYTHMULATOR” TRAINING PATTERN HERE!

WATCH MY POLICE BASIC MOTORCYCLE INSTRUCTOR SCHOOL VIDEO SERIES:

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Video-Remove Front Brake Hand Lever on a Harley Davidson Motorcycle | DIY

January 7, 2020 By Ryan Urlacher 2 Comments

Video-In this completely free DIY video, we show you how to remove and replace your Harley-Davidson front brake lever. This will be the same procedure for almost any year and model of Harley-Davidson motorcycle, as nothing has really changed over the years. In this video, we used a 2001 Harley-Davidson Road King. We wanted to change the stock front brake lever with a black one. We'll show you some tips and tricks to easily get this project done.

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Save yourself a ton of money by not having to take your Harley to the dealership to have these types of projects done. You can do this right in your very own shop or garage and right on the kickstand. Plus, have the absolute satisfaction of wrenching on your own Harley!