Motorcycle Accidents
Motorcycles vs. Autos
How Motorcycle
Accidents Happen
Motorcycle
Accident and Injury Statistics
Who
Is Affected
Motorcycle
Injury Improvements
Helmets
Save Lives
Motorcycle
Repair or Replacement
Motorcycle
Safety
Helmets
The Statistics
Don't Lie
Safety
& Advocacy Organizations
Tips
for Preventing Motorcycle Injuries
Passenger
Safety
On
The Road
Motorcycle
Clubs
Favorite
Motorcycle Road Trips
Riding
Tips
Motorcycle Care
Bike Talk
Customizing
your Bike
History
of Motorcycles
Bike
Basics
Motorcycle
Types
Buying a
Motorcycle
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Just so you don’t
get caught mumbling, “Wha’ did he say?”
all the time when you’re out on the road chatting
with your new biker pals, here’s a partial glossary
of biker jargon (some common, some obscure) to help you
not only walk the walk, but talk the talk.
- Anch's or Anchors – Brakes.
- Apes or Ape Hangers - Very tall
handlebars, usually found on cruisers.
- Back Door - The last (and most
experienced) rider in a group ride.
- Bail – To leave a bike deliberately
in an emergency. Done so that the rider can avoid
a violent collision, and allows the leathers to absorb
the heat and abrasion of a slide.
- Bible - Repair manual.
- Big Five - Refers to the five
major motorcycle manufacturers - Harley Davidson,
Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki, and Yamaha.
- Biker Friendly - A business establishment
that doesn't treat you like you have the plague when
you walk in wearin' leather.
- Binder – Brake.
- Bleeding - The process of removing
all trapped air from a hydraulic line, such as a brake
line or clutch line.
- Blinkers - Turn signals.
- Body Bag - Leathers or other protective
clothing.
- Brain Bucket - Helmet.
- Bubble Gum Machine – Warning
that The Law is up ahead. Usually patting the top
of your helmet warns those behind you that a cop is
ahead.
- Bumpstick - Camshaft.
- Buns - Tires.
- Burnout - The process of spinning
the rear tire on a motorcycle by hitting the throttle
hard while stopped. Some people do this to show off.
- Cager - A person who drives a
car, truck or van.
- Cans - Exhaust pipes.
- Chopped - A motorcycle that has
been converted into a chopper.
- Chopper - A motorcycle, usually
a cruiser, that has unique styling features including
a very long, forward-angled, front fork. Many choppers
also have ape hangers, and a smaller than normal front
wheel.
- Chugging - See Lugging.
- Click - Kilometer.
- Clubber - One who has club affiliation.
- Cop House - A police station.
Also, more derogatorily, a donut or coffee shop.
- Coupon - A traffic ticket.
- Cow - A very large cruiser, especially
one that is equipped with lots of accessories.
- Crotch Rocket - Sport bike, especially
a very fast one.
- Cruiser - A type of motorcycle
with a laid-back, feet forward, seating position.
A Harley-Davidson is the classic example of a cruiser.
- Duc - Slang term for a Ducati
motorcycle.
- Flying Colors - Riding while wearing
the club/organization's colors.
- Flyscreen - A steep, smaller than
normal windscreen.
- Fork - The front end of a motorcycle.
The fork starts near the handlebars.
- Front Door - Leader of a group
ride.
- Get-off - To leave a bike deliberately
in an emergency. Done so that the rider can avoid
a violent collision, and allows the leathers to absorb
the heat and abrasion of a slide.
- Hammer Down - Open the throttle
fully or accelerate rapidly.
- Handle - Street name, club member's
name.
- Hard Bags - Motorcycle luggage
that is made of plastic, fiberglass, or metal.
- Headshake - A violent side-to-side
wobbling of the handlebars and front end of a motorcycle.
Also called a tank-slapper.
- Highside - Type of motorcycle
crash in which the rider is flipped over the motorcycle.
The highside is generally regarded as one of the more
dangerous types of crashes.
- Hog - A cruiser, especially a
Harley-Davidson.
- Jugs - Cylinders in an engine,
especially in a cruiser context.
- Jukebox - Any over-dressed bike.
- Knobbies - The tires used on dirt
bikes and trail bikes. The tires have large knobs
that make up the tread, hence the term knobbies.
- Lane-splitting or Lane sharing
- Driving between involuntarily parked cages on an
overcrowded highway.
- Laying it Down - This when there's
imminent danger of an accident ahead, or you hit some
oil or gravel and you have to lay the bike down on
its side.
- Leathers - Protective leather
clothing worn by motorcyclists, especially racers.
Leathers are available in pants, jackets, or 1-piece
suits that cover the entire body.
- Loner or Lone Wolf - An individual
who shares the same values and enjoys the same life-style
as outlaw gang members but who prefers to keep a degree
of freedom of choice by not formally belonging to
one specific club.
- Lowside - A type of motorcycle
crash in which the rider falls down, off the side
of the bike closest to the ground. Lowsides are among
the less severe crashes.
- Lugging - When the transmission
is in a higher gear than needed and the engine doesn't
have enough power to drive smoothly, it "chugs"
or "lugs" along.
- Lung - Cylinders in an engine.
A single cylinder engine is commonly called a "1-lung
motor".
- Mill - Engine.
- Motocross - A type of motorcycle
racing that simulates off-road conditions. Motocross
tracks are made of dirt and have hills, jumps, and
tight turns.
- Naked Bike - A motorcycle in which
the frame and internal parts are openly visible.
- Official Interview - Being pulled
over by a police officer.
- Pads – Tires.
- Pegs - Objects on which the rider
of a motorcycle puts his feet. The passenger generally
has their own set of pegs. The pegs protect the feet
and place them close to the controls.
- Performance Award - Speeding ticket.
- Pillion - The rear (passenger)
seat on a motorcycle.
- Pipes - Exhaust pipes are often
customized in order to change the appearance, sound,
and performance of a motorcycle.
- Rainbows - Oil on the street…
usually a wet street.
- Rake - The angle of the fork with
respect to vertical.
- Rat Bike - A motorcycle bought
and maintained as cheaply as possible; generally looks
the part.
- Redline - Fastest recommended
RPM for an engine. Denoted by the start of the red
area on the tachometer.
- Reserve Tank - Some motorcycles
have fuel tanks that are partitioned, with the smaller
portion available to the engine only by turning a
valve. The smaller portion is the reserve tank.
- Rice Burner - Any Japanese motorcycle,
especially Japanese sport bikes.
- Rice Rocket - See Rice Burner.
- Road Rash - The injuries resulting
from sliding down the road in an accident.
- Saddle - Another word for a motorcycle
seat.
- Silencer - Another term for the
muffler. See Pipes.
- Sissy Bar - A kind of backrest
installed on cruisers.
- Sled - Motorcycle.
- Slip-ons - Aftermarket mufflers.
- Slugs - Pistons.
- Soft Luggage - Motorcycle luggage,
such as tank bags or saddlebags, that are made out
of a flexible material such as leather.
- Squid - Biker jargon for an irresponsible,
dangerous, rider. It comes from "SQUirrely kID".
- Standard - The "original"
type of motorcycle. Standards have upright seating
positions.
- Stock - Unmodified from factory
condition.
- Stoppie - A kind of stunt in which
the rider brakes very hard on the front wheel only,
while leaning forward so that the rear wheel of the
bike comes off the ground as the bike slows.
- Suicide Shifter - A type of shifter
which is actuated by hand rather than with the foot.
It requires the rider to take his hand off the handlebars
in order to shift.
- Superslab - Interstate highways.
- Tail Gunner - The last rider in
a group.
- Tank Slapper - See Headshake.
- Tire Squirm - Instability in tires
resulting from the bending of the tall portion of
the treads under torque. The more tread lines a tire
has, and the closer they are, the more tire squirm
you will get.
- Torque - The amount of rotational
force generated by the engine.
- Touring - A motorcycle designed
for long-distance riding. Touring motorcycles are
large motorcycles with many comfort features, such
as large padded seats, large windscreens, even radios.
- Turbo - Turbocharger. Also, a
bike that is equipped with a turbocharger.
- Turbocharger - A type of air compressor
which is driven by a turbine mounted on the exhaust
of an engine. It raises the pressure of the air intake,
allowing an engine to make more power.
- Twisties - A road with many curves.
- Twistgrip - The most common type
of throttle on a motorcycle. A twistgrip throttle
is controlled by rotating the grip while holding onto
it.
- Two-stroke - Type of motorcycle
engine that runs on a mixture of oil and gasoline.
Two stroke engines are usually more powerful than
four-stroke engines of the same size. Two-strokes
are commonly found only in dirt bikes.
- Two-up - Riding with a passenger.
- Waxer - Someone who would rather
wax his bike than ride it.
- Wheelie - A kind of stunt in which
the rider accelerates very hard while pulling back
on the handlebars so that the front wheel comes off
the ground.
- Windblast - The buffeting and
noise felt at high speeds due to the wind. It can
usually be controlled with a windscreen or taller
fairing, or a more tucked riding position.
- Wrench – Mechanic.
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See a medical professional
as soon as possible
Follow your doctor's orders
Keep a diary of your injuries, symptoms, and any
associated costs
Call an experienced
attorney like Michael Padway
Do not make any statements regarding fault
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| Call
Us: 1-800-928-1511 |
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| Michael Padway &
Associates |
595 Market Street,
Ste 2520
San Francisco, CA 94105
Tel: 415-777-1511
Tel: 800-928-1511 |
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