For most people, taking a vacation is only a dream. With today’s busy lifestyle, hectic jobs and family obligations, who has the time (or money) to fly away to a tropical island, the mountains or a lush rain forest? It is estimated that in the United States, the average worker who is actually at a job that offers benefits, receives around eight days of vacation time per year.

However, a majority of these same individuals admit they use most of these days as sick days for themselves or their children or they take one day off here and there to get caught up on household chores.

It is quite unfortunate that Americans are working more than they ever have, yet relaxing and vacationing less. This all work and no play leads to stress, poor health, unfavorable eating habits, irregular sleep patterns and problems with spouse and family relationships.

Since people can’t spare the vacation days, expenses and hassle of planning a getaway, a breakation is now the word for the future decade!

What is a Breakation?

A breakation is a little longer than your average coffee break yet considerably shorter than a real vacation. This could be a few hours set aside for yourself once a week, a whole day or even an occasional weekend if you are really lucky but the important thing is, you do something just for you.

What would you like to do if no one called or needed anything from you? Perhaps breaking down and buying yourself a used motorcycle so you can hit the open road would be a great idea? Doesn’t a road trip with no worries and a lot of fresh air sound unbelievable?

Maybe your idea of a breakation is taking a drive to the closest slopes to go skiing or snowboarding for a few hours? Better yet, you could get yourself some heated motorcycle clothes, ride to the resort, rent equipment when you get there and then ride back home. That would be a whole adventure you can probably accomplish in 8 to 10 hours and you will sleep like a baby when you go to sleep!

The great thing about a breakation is that there are no rules! You can do whatever you want, even if that means flying a kite or driving two hours to a beach or park that you have never been to, just to lay under a tree and read a book.

Why You Need a Breakation

You need and deserve a breakation every week! It doesn’t always have to be a huge adventure but even a couple of hours can help bring balance to your life. You need time to relax your mind so your body can be healthy. If you constantly work and take care of daily responsibilities without any personal enjoyment, you increase your risk for health concerns and you probably find yourself snapping at little things you wouldn’t normally be bothered by.

You work hard to pay bills and take care of your family. When your friends need you, they know that you can be counted on no matter what.

Don’t you deserve a little balance in your life and time to focus on yourself?

Don’t you deserve a breakation?

About the Author

Mike Ellero is a motorcycle salesperson who takes the time to ride as often as he can to bring balance to his life which allows him to be more healthy, productive and successful. He sells motorcycles and heated motorcycle clothes so individuals can enjoy a breakation! On his website, you will find information about riding safety and motorcycle leather clothing.

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There is little that can compare to flying down the open road on your Harley with the speedometer pushing triple digits, bugs whizzing by your head, twisting the throttle a touch more and hearing the pipes scream.

That is unless you are Jason Britton – and then you’d be doing the same while standing on your head to boot.

For anyone that is unfamiliar with Jason Britton, I highly recommend that you tune into the SPEED channel on your local cable or satellite service (btw, offer still stands to earn a $100 credit when switching to DirecTV) and take a look at his new show titled Stealth Rider (preview clip).

With Stealth Rider, you’ll see the crew traveling around the country and filming some of the most insane stunt riding that you will ever see. With each stop along the way, they will feature some local riders and also highlight some of Americas great roads that call bikers from all over.

Personally, I’m much more the laid-back cruiser style rider. Sure, I love the appeal of racing bikes but I don’t have a sport bike and I’m certainly not one to willingly hop off my bike while traveling at any speed or try to stand on my head while riding. Hell, I would be lucky to stand on my head while on solid ground.

That doesn’t mean that I am unable to appreciate the sick stunts that Jason and his team are able to pull off.

I cannot even imagine what it would be like to ride with these guys, although the closest I will likely ever come would be to attend something like Skip Barber’s Superbike School – which I do think would be a killer experience if it weren’t so dang expensive.

For the time being, I will be content with tuning in to Stealth Rider and watching re-runs of Biker Boyz (even if Laurence Fishburne is completely unrealistic as Smoke) and Torque.

Check out the show and let me know what you think.

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As many of you have seen in recent weeks on this blog, Harley-Davidson is a company that is quickly embracing social media. One such Harley-Davidson social media initiative is to leverage the blogosphere to help build excitement about their brand.

Well, I have some exciting news for fans of Harley-Davidson – the XR1200, inspired by the legendary XR750, is the newest member of the Sportster family and is coming to the U.S. following its Europe-only release early this year.

The XR750 was the most dominating American dirt track racking motorcycle of all-time, earning the Number One plate in an unprecedented 26 AMA flat track seasons. When the XR1200 had a Europe-only release, many riders in the U.S. were anxious to see if they would bring the bike stateside.

That time has come!

In a tribute to the XR750, there is a pre-sale of only 750 XR1200 models that will begin on December 1st, 2008 and end on December 15th, 2008.

More information on the Harley-Davidson XR1200:

Drawing significant design influences from the successful Harley-Davidson XR750 motorcycles that set new standards for dirt track racing success over the last 30 years, the XR1200 features technical innovation to provide potent street performance and handling. In fact, Harley-Davidson dirt track racing legends Scott Parker and Rich King participated in the XR1200 development, along with European GP racing champion Adrien Morillas.

The 1200cc Evolution V-Twin cranks out 90 hp with high torque. Rubber mounted to a new frame with a cast aluminum swingarm, the engine delivers exhilarating performance and responsive handling with less vibration. A unique upswept, high-volume 2-1-2 straight shot exhaust system includes dual mufflers and is finished in satin chrome.

A sport-tuned Showa® suspension with inverted 43 mm front forks and twin preload adjustable shocks combines with lightweight black cast three-spoke wheels to make the XR1200 ride and corner with feeling. Specially designed Dunlop® Qualifier D209 tires connect the rider to the road, while Nissin® four-piston calipers and large dual disc front brakes provide stopping power.

There will be more information, including a video of the XR1200, from Harley-Davidson as the bike is released. As soon as I hear word of this information being available, I’ll let you know.

In the meantime, I will make the suggestion to Harley-Davidson that if they really want to leverage social media, they should select one of the top 40 bloggers (ahem, raising hand) to spend some time with a demo of the XR1200 and write about their experience.

After all, if Kawasaki can do it, why not Harley-Davidson?

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Lately we have been discussing the fact that more and more businesses are beginning to explore how the social media space can be of benefit to their business. One business that is embracing social media happens to be a business of much personal interest to me…Harley-Davidson.

While riding season is coming to an end here in the Midwest and I begin to think of the Harley mods on my wish list, I have been fortunate enough to have been put in contact with someone that works at Harley-Davidson and has provided me with an amazing opportunity.

I’ve been given a chance to put together a handful of questions pertaining to Harley-Davidson and their initiatives in the social media space. Beyond being the General Manager of the Chicago White Sox, I think working on social media at Harley-Davidson would be a dream job – so getting this insight into their initiatives is a really cool opportunity.

In an effort to share this opportunity with all of you, I want to ask you – what would you want to ask the people at Harley-Davidson about their initiatives in the social media space?

Submit your questions here in the comments, or send me an email, and I will do my best to get your questions answered.

In the meantime, here are a few places that you can find Harley-Davidson to see what they are up to with social media:

• Main Website
• MySpace
• Facebook
• YouTube
• twitter

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Hello everyone, I’m Nick and I would just like to take a quick minute to say thank you to Derek for letting me post here today. Actually, I should say thank you to him for taking his family to Disney World so that I could have the opportunity to borrow his Harley…I mean his blog for awhile.

For the last couple of years, I have been considering getting a different motorcycle. This is usually something that is on my mind mostly during the spring and summer months, but I figure it makes a better post for Derek’s blog than mine and he was asking for guest posts, so I am turning to all of you for some suggestions.

Before we get started, a little background.

I currently ride a 750cc 1983 Honda V45 Magna. I’ve had this particular bike for about 6 ½ years now and while I do like it, I think I want a different one. My two main complaints with this bike are that when I go on a trip or take it anywhere, I have to stop for gas about every 100 miles or so which is just plain annoying. The second thing about it that I’m not too fond of is that it is a little bit taller than it should be for my height. It’s not so bad that I cannot handle it or anything like that; it’s just tall enough that moving it around (especially backwards) in the garage and other similar situations is a bit of a trick.

Now, let’s discuss some of the things that I am looking for in my next bike.

First of all, I want to address both of the issues that I have with my current one. This means that it must have a lower seat height than I currently have (I think mine is something like 29 or 30 inches) and a longer range than I currently have. As far as distance per tank of fuel is concerned I would like to get at least 150 or maybe even 200 miles on one tank of gas.

A couple of other requirements that I am looking for in a new bike are that it has to have a windshield and saddlebags as well as a strong preference for a fuel gauge rather than just a warning light like I have now. As far as engine size is concerned, I do not want a smaller bike which means the new one will have to be at least 750cc and I would prefer if it were a little larger say 900cc or so.

It would also be nice if it had some additional comforts such as floorboards, heel-toe shifter, and passenger backrest but these things are not quite as important in my decision making process but more like tie-breakers. In this quest for a bigger-better bike though, I’m not looking for an all-out full dressed bike like a Gold Wing or anything like that.

I have considered a few different bikes including the Kawasaki Vulcan 900 Classic LT (especially when they had the black and silver ones a couple years ago) which has pretty much everything I am looking for and almost seems to be exactly what I want. I have also thought about and considered various versions of the Honda Shadow and was even eyeing a 1998 Harley Davidson Road King until it got sold.

While I’m sure it would be fairly easy to find a bike that would fit my requirements that I would be happy with. Probably the biggest factor influencing my continuing to ride my Magna is cost and my lack of money.

However, it’s fun to dream and hope and plan so to help me figure out just what motorcycle I should be saving my money for, I am turning to you, Derek’s motorcycle riding audience, to offer suggestions.

Have you had any positive or negative experience with any particular bike?

Any suggestions on what I should look for or avoid?

How about thoughts on my current list of things I am looking at when checking out a bike?

Nick writes about ham radios, computing, money, and more over at romandock dot com – where you will also learn how he came up with the name for his blog.

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There have been a few days here and there where cranking up the old Harley has been feasible, although it still requires a fair amount of warm clothing to keep any chance of comfort within reach. But the days are beginning to get a little warmer here in the middle of the country and it won’t be long now until riding season is in full force.

Towards the end of last summer, you might recall that I posted about my wish list of Harley Davidson Accessories that I had hoped to install. Unfortunately the winter months have come and gone – for the most part – and the bike has not received any modifications.

This year Harley has come out with a few models that I really like – such as the Rocker pictured above. As much as I would love to trade in the 2002 Softail that I have right now, I have to say that the most economical route is to pick up the desired HD parts that are on my wish list and enjoy my bike a little more.

It would be really nice to have the ability to have two bikes, as I would really love to have one bike for commuting to work and touring while also having more of a solo bar hopper style bike for cruising around town and riding with my buddies.

While I drool over the Cross Bones – another bike that I would welcome to my garage in a heartbeat – I will continue to set aside the earnings from this blog to hopefully use when I find the right deals on a few discount Harley parts.

Although maybe I should really set my sights high and see if I can build this blog up to the point where I can just purchase one of the new bikes to keep my Softail company when I am not out on the road!

Credits: Photos © 2001-2008 H-D. All rights reserved.

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Roughly two weeks ago, I was planning a short little motorcycle ride with a couple of my buddies and realized that my bike wasn’t running quite right.

For those that may not remember, I own a 2002 Harley Davidson Softail and I don’t exactly have the best track record when it comes to working on my motorcycle – or pretty much anything that involves tools.

Basically, the problem that I experienced with my bike was that the engine would sputter and die as soon as I would push in the enrichener. Since my bike does not have EFI (electronic fuel injection) I need to let it warmup properly but I had done that. Something wasn’t right but I wasn’t sure what to do.

I turned to a few online forums for help and also dropped an email to Liz from Rippin Kitten, as I knew she has experience working on her own bike. (Liz – I tried to reply to your email a few times but it bounced back to me.)

The feedback was that the problem sounded like the fuel in the tank may be bad and possibly caused the carb to clog up. The suggestions included trying some Marvel Mystery Oil, installing new spark plugs, testing for a vacuum leak, and an overall tuneup.

Naturally I thought I would start with the easiest remedy, as anything involving the need to install HD parts is bound to be an adventure.

Today I finally had the time to stop off at the auto parts store and pick up a bottle of the Marvel Mystery Oil, as well as a fresh tank of premium fuel before heading back home. Once I was home, I determined the appropriate amount of the Mystery Oil to add to my tank and fired up the bike to head out for a quick ride.

Back home after an extremely windy ride, I pulled into the garage and kept the bike running to see if pushing the enrichener all the way in would still cause the engine to die. Gradually I pushed the enrichener in and then waited to see if it would keep running. A little further and wait some more. With the enrichener all the way in the bike was still running.

Marvel Mystery Oil is a magic elixir!

One tank of premium fuel mixed with the magic elixir and my Harley seems to be running just fine again. I’ll have to give it another test ride to make sure it wasn’t just a fluke but things are looking promising.

In the meantime, I will be searching for some discount Harley parts as I will likely still need to change the spark plugs after running the bike with the enrichener out a little. Not to mention winter is nearly upon us and I still have my wishlist of mods that I have yet to address.

Any mechanics in the area looking for an apprentice?

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For the most part, my 2002 Harley Softail is stock as I haven’t had the disposable income to sink into the variety of Harley Davidson parts that I would like to add to my bike.

Right now the only mods that I have made to the bike are Vance and Hines Longshots, Screamin’ Eagle air cleaner, Harley Davidson oil dipstick with temperature gauge, Harley Davidson saddlebags and Harley Davidson sissy bar.

The list of Harley accessories that I would like to buy is so long that one may think I would be better off simply buying a new bike. But unless I plan to cough up the money for a custom bike, I plan to just make a few mods here and there to make this bike a little more unique. The following mods are near the top of my list, in part because they are some of the more affordable things that I would like to change.

Detachable Windshield
My preference is really to ride without a windshield but on longer trips or the 65-mile commute to work, having a windshield would be a welcome convenience to keep the wind from pummeling my chest.

While I have talked to quite a few people that claim once you ride with the windshield you will not want to take it off, I want to go with the detachable windshield to keep my options open.

When I bought my saddlebags, I did not select detachable bags and there have been times where I regretted that decision. If I go with the detachable windshield and never remove it, I really haven’t lost anything (other than a few bucks difference in price) but if I don’t select the detachable windshield then I cannot easily remove it if I want to ride with the wind in my face and chest.

Solo Seat

While I have kept the stock seat and bought the sissy bar to make my wife more comfortable when she rides with me, she really doesn’t ride with me all that often. Since I ride solo most of the time, I would like to replace the stock seat with a nice solo seat.

I’ve always liked the look of a solo seat and for daily riding I think it would work well. I’m not sure how it would look with my saddlebags on the bike though, so I would have to experiment and maybe change the bags out if it didn’t look right.

One of the hard things with replacing the seat, at least in my opinion, is that you don’t really know how comfortable the seat is going to be on long rides. I’ve tried to use various motorcycle forums to get feedback on seats but it is really an individual thing as a seat that is comfortable to one person may feel like a rock to someone else. You can get custom seats made and that might be the best option, although that is certainly going to be more expensive.

Low Rider
One of the first mods that people make to their car is to drop it with a new suspension and motorcycles are no exception.

I’d like to get the low-profile suspension, which can lower the seat height by about 3/4″ or thereabouts. While I’ve seen custom bikes with a hydraulic suspension, I know that is well out of my budget so I think this is a good compromise.

As the picture shows, I’d like to go with the black suspension as I would like to get as much black on my bike as possible. Many people prefer the shine of chrome but I tend to lean the opposite way in that regard and love the look of a sleek black bike.

Additional Mods
As anyone that has bought Harley parts is well aware, they are not cheap and can quickly add up when trying to customize your bike. Some of the other mods that I have on my list for consideration would be new hand and foot controls, new mirrors, new wheels with the wide tire kit and of course the big bore kit to crank out more power.

One of the things that is really cost prohibitive for me is the fact that I am not exactly mechanically gifted and would likely have to pay someone to install most of these parts. That makes even the more minor mods quite a bit more expensive as labor is not cheap.

For a short time I had an old 1982 Honda CM450E that I always planned to use as my experimental bike to learn how to wrench but it was taking up valuable space in my garage and I gave it away about 2 years ago. This is actually one of the reasons that I hope to attend the Chopper College boot camp to learn a few skills that may make mods to my own bike more affordable.

What mods would you make to your motorcycle if you were on a budget? How about if money were no issue?

Credits: Photos © 2001-2007 H-D. All rights reserved.

In the Sunday edition of the Chicago Tribune, there was an article in the Chicago Magazine about a new business venture located in Harvey, IL called Chopper College.

As many of you are aware, I ride a 2002 Harley Softail and have an interest in learning more about how to maintain my own motorcycle. However, given my recent mishap with installing my new battery maybe I should give up on that dream.

This is where Chopper College comes in and instantly grabbed my attention. The school is run by three guys that have a good deal of experiencing wrenching on motorcycles even if they may be young by some people’s standards. They all have formal trade school training for motorcycles and are building quite successful careers. They have built bikes for some interesting people including bands, tattoo businesses and top politicians.

Right now they are offering a 3 Day Chopper Boot Camp. In this boot camp, you will learn how to build a custom chopper from the ground up. The beautiful thing is that there are no requirements as to your mechanical ability so I shouldn’t have too many problems with my limited skills.

According to their website, they typically meet four distinct types of students.

• Industry Pro :: You already own a bike shop and work on bike projects
  
  
• The Novice :: You know nothing about building a bike and do not have the skills but are ready to learn
  
  
• Sick of the Rat Race :: You’re in a totally unrelated career but looking for a new career in custom bike building
  
  
• Show Me The Money :: You have skills but lack the knowledge on how to get the most for your money when building and selling bikes
  
  

Personally, I fall into a couple of those categories as I would classify myself as The Novice and Sick of the Rat Race. Right now I do not have the mechanical skills but am ready and able to learn quickly. In addition, I am currently in the IT field but would love to have a successful career combining my passion of riding motorcycles with my new skills of building motorcycles.

If you have ever thought of building a custom chopper or are interested in learning more about it, I encourage you to check out the Chopper College website and learn a little bit more about what they have to offer.

Unfortunately their website is really pretty poor and has been loading extremely slow for me. Maybe I should contact the guys behind Chopper College and try to barter my services for tuition to the college, which runs $1150 for the 3 day boot camp.

Speaking of the tuition, right now the $1150 is out of my budget for unplanned expenses so I am experimenting with the *Buy Me A Beer* plugin but I have customized it to allow you to help me pay for Chopper College tuition.

So…

For anyone that rides a motorcycle, you have no doubt experienced the frustration of sitting at a red light and not getting the light to change in your favor unless a car pulls up with you. Or how about being first in the left-turn lane yet never getting the green arrow?

When this happens to you on a motorcycle, you don’t have many options other than hoping another vehicle pulls up to the light along side you or you have to risk the law and blow through the light (which is not recommended). The reason this happens is because many traffic signals utilize an inductive loop sensor set in the pavement. When a car or truck pulls up to the intersection, the sensor detects the presence of the metal and recognizes that a vehicle is waiting at the intersection.

On a motorcycle, there is usually not enough metal to trigger the sensor controlling the traffic signal. This is the purpose behind The Green Light Trigger, which is intended to emit a strong magnetic field that will simulate the presence of a much larger vehicle meaning you will not have to wait for that green light.

As I enter the riding season, I’ll have to think about picking one of these up to give it a try. While it doesn’t happen too many times to me, waiting for a green light can be very frustrating – particularly late at night.

If anyone has tried The Green Light Trigger or something similar, I’d be interested in hearing your feedback. If I can get my hands on one, I will gladly provide a review for anyone that might be considering one.