If you ever wanted to learn how to draw a motorcycle with a pencil and some paper then hit the jump and watch the demonstration video to see this Harley-Davidson V-Rod drawing above come to life right before your eyes.  Also, there is a step-by-step method listed on how you can learn to sketch your favorite bike for yourself.

Jon Bunne, Buell’s Sr. Test Engineer, explains how to set-up your suspension on the Buell 1125R according to your riding style, preference and when riding with a passenger or heavy gear.  Bunne, recommends adjusting the suspension accordingly and demonstrates how to do just that by following the settings that are listed in the owner’s manual.

Check it out after the jump.

There’s a great series running on Motorcycle.com all about getting you and your motorcycle ready for road racing.  If you are interested at all getting out on the track to be just like those MotoGP racers, you have some very interesting reading ahead of you.

The series is very extensive, it starts off with just you and your motorcycle and proceeds all the way to what you should expect, learn, know and bring to the track.  Any expenses made are highlighted in each article so you can get an idea just how much it will cost to get you on your way with this addiction.  The author, Jeremiah Knupp, took his 2000 Ducati 748 along on this journey.

Here’s 9 handy guides to help you start motorcycle road racing:

1. Introduction: Leaving the lawn chair

2. Geoff May: one man show to AMA pro – Pointers and Interview with Pro Geoff May

3. Prepping your bike for track school

4. Cleared for Take-Off: Getting Your Race License

5. Building a Supersport racer – the minimum

6. Building a Supersport racer – the priorities

7. Advanced Supersport modifications

8. Building a Supersport Racer – Stage III, the Finishing Touches

9. Preparing for your first race weekend

Even if you don’t plan on ever getting into road racing, I found the articles to be quite fascinating as to how Jeremiah Knupp (the author) got prepared for his new hobby.

Give the articles a skim at least, there’s some great pictures from photographer Holly Marcus to check out.  I’ve included a few shots below that I pulled from some of the photo galleries.

In my search through the Motorcycle.com community forums (see the links at the very bottom of this page) to find some handy, insightful and practical tips or projects for readers to check out, I’ve stumbled across a few bizarre things.

I felt I had to post this one.  It is awesome and scary all at the same time.

Blackdog 15 of the harley-davidsonforums.com has posted his method on mounting a sidearm (or two) on his motorcycle.  He admits that he and a buddy had a few drinks to inspire them on how they would attach such instruments of death to their rides.

I guess it’s kind of obvious (and hilarious) that they had a few drinks.

See the rest of the post for some more pics.  Go sign up on harley-davidsonforums.com to give a friendly hello and a pat on the back for a job well done.

Motorcycle communities are a huge resource for any kind of project or help you might need.  It’s incredible the amount of stuff people post and the effort they put into it!

arturo3rd on Kawiforums.com posted some great tips and photos on how to shave down your motorcycle seat for a more comfortable ride.

Things you’ll need:

• flat screwdriver
• pliers
• sharp knife(steak)
• rough grit sand paper
• staple gun

I’m unsure if all motorcycle seats are made of the same material so be wary before you start if your motorcycle isn’t a Kawasaki.

Head over to the Kawiforums to see full instructions and pictures on how arturo3rd did it.  See the rest of the post for a few more pictures of the job.

Our sister site, ATV.com, is ready to give away the Yamaha Raptor ATV they’ve been customizing over the last few weeks.

They took a base Yamaha Raptor 250 valued at $4,499.00 and modified it into an $8,000 beast!  Why they just don’t keep it in the office to use for coffee runs is beyond me.

They’ve slapped on new air filters, mufflers, new alloy wheels, new tires, front bumper and grab bar, skid plates, nerf bars, new grips, new seat cover, new plastics, and more!

PHEW!  That’s a heck of a lot of stuff thrown on!  AND you also get a couple hundred dollars worth of Shift riding gear thrown in!

Check this machine out:

Head over to ATV.com for a chance to win this puppy!

To see how they did it, check out their 6 part series on upgrading their Yamaha Raptor.

Yamaha Raptor 250 Project – Part 1
Yamaha Raptor 250 Project – Part 2
Yamaha Raptor 250 Project – Part 3
Yamaha Raptor 250 Project – Part 4
Yamaha Raptor 250 Project – Part 5
Yamaha Raptor 250 Project – Overview

And let’s not forget the review:
2009 Yamaha Raptor 250 Review

Looks like the makers of NOS Energy Drink got wind of the Gixxer.com user who dumped two bottles of the stuff into his motorcycle.

If you don’t know what I’m talking about, you have been living under a rock the last 2 days (or maybe you just don’t use the Internet as much as some of us). Head over to this post to catch up as to what’s been happening over on the Gixxer.com forums:

Bike won’t Start after Using NOS Fuel Additive [Pics and Video]

The video posted below seems to be a public service announcement telling the public where NOS is really supposed to go.

See the full article for the video aaaand the keyboard cat video just because I enjoy the jingle that little guy plays.

Alright, maybe this isn’t for everyone, but I thought it was obscure enough to warrant some interest to any motorcyclist.

TEZZMIN, a senior member over at the R6MessageNet forums, has posted a nice How-To on removing an ‘03-’04 Yamaha R6 ’s Air Induction System.

What does the AIS do?

“AIS takes clean air from the air box where it is distributed and pulled (under vacuum) past the reed valves and in to the exhaust port where it mixes with
the unburned fuel and ignites @ 1200 degrees it in the exhaust header. ” (quote by 04UpInFlames). Well said.

If you get allot of deceleration popping with a slip on or full system this removed will help reduce it. The AIS helps the bike put out “cleaner” emissions. That’s why a “racer” would have no need for it and if you get a after market pipe some choose to remove it.

Did you get all that?

Even if you don’t own a 2003-2004 Yamaha R6, it’s interesting to see how it’s done.  hit the jump for more pics.  Head to the thread to see the details and see the 11 pages of posts that followed.

UPDATE: Poor sti2gsxr has made it on to the Comedy Central website.

I’m shaking my head right now but I’m also thinking “Kudos, NOS, for making your energy drink so convincing that someone thought you actually use it as a fuel additive”.

Poor poor sti2gsxr over on the Gixxer.com boards posted:

My bike was running like crap on my way home from work so I stopped at a gas station to get some NOS. I poured in 2 bottles and rode it home. Well I don’t think it helped because it ran even worse on the way home and now it won’t start. Any ideas?

When shown pics of actual NOS performance enhancer and NOS energy drink, our dear friend sti2gsxr replied:

are you f@#king kidding me! now what do I do?

His post was followed up by 900+ forum members posting to make fun of him and almost 300,000 people just watching and laughing.

An Epic Fail, if I do say so myself.

Head over there to have a laugh, or better yet, SIGN UP and show sti2gsxr some love!

See the rest of the post for a collection of pics and a keyboard cat video dedicated to sti2gsxr and his NOS energy drink additive.

It is still Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month so I am still bent on making you aware of safety and motorcycles.

Hand signals play a large part in motorcycle riding if you are riding in a group (unless you have those handy helmet radios).  As the “leader of the pack”, they are a great way of letting everyone behind you know what is going on and what to watch out for.

The signals are somewhat universal but I’ve thrown in some illustrated guides in this post to help you out.  When riding in a group, your members can decide on which ones work best for you.

See the full post for the illustrations or to read more articles on safety, head over to Motorcycle.com’s Rider Training and Safety section.