The Sonic Boom

Eddy

by

What Are the Basic Parts of a Motorcycle

You love riding your motorcycle. It’s so much more than a “point A to point B” vehicle — it’s your passion, and what you most look forward to doing in your free time.

No matter how long you’ve been riding, you may or may not know a lot about your bike. You might do all of your repairs yourself or take it to a mechanic when anything needs to be fixed. Either way is fine. But whether you’re an expert or not, it’s important to know the basic parts of a motorcycle so you know if anything major is wrong.

It’s good knowledge to have, especially if you go on long road trips. Having a basic knowledge for parts can also come in handy if your bike breaks down and you’re stranded. You may say “Hey, I need someone to do my term paper on motorcycle mechanics!”, but we’ll reply there is no need to go this deep. So here are the basic parts of a motorcycle.

Brakes

It’s useful to know how your brakes work. Not only because they’re essential for stopping, but because knowing how to replace them yourself can save you a lot of money. Not to mention, it’s useful information to know in a pinch.

Motorcycle brakes come in two different types — drum and disc brakes — with one set of brakes being on the front wheel and another set on the rear wheel.

Chain

The chain connects the transmission to the rear wheel. And it makes the rear wheel turn, which powers the motorcycle.

Engine

The engine powers the vehicle, and in this case, a motorcycle. Knowing what type of oil your engine takes is essential, especially if you have a leak or are running low while riding.

Frame

The frame, typically made from aluminum or steel, is the core structure of the bike, since it supports the engine and key components/parts.

Suspension

The suspension serves a few purposes: handling and braking, first and foremost, but also protecting the rider from bumps, road noise, and vibrations. If a motorcycle doesn’t have good suspension, then it will be a bumpy and unpleasant ride, to say the least.

Tires

Tires are the inflatable rubber tubes that are attached to the wheels. These are what people refer to when their bike is flat and what needs replaced when a driver has a flat tire or the tread of the tires are worn down.

Transmission

The transmission delivers power to the motorcycle. Taking it a step further, the transmission delivers power from the engine to the rear wheel.

Wheels

Wheels are what the tires attach onto. They receive power from the engine and actually put the bike in motion.

Others

There are, of course, other parts on a motorcycle, such as the handlebars and lights, but the parts above tend to be classified as basic and universal. There are more complicated parts as well.

It’s important to know the basic parts above so you can purchase what you need, whether it’s Polaris OEM parts or something more general. Routine maintenance and proper fixes can keep your bike running smoothly and efficiently, and allow you to get the most life out of your motorcycle.

It’s never a good idea to ride your bike if something is broken or damaged as this can lead to the damage worsening and not only affects the ride, but can further damage other parts of the bike. Routine maintenance and necessary fixes cost money initially, but they will save you money in the long run.

If you want to learn more about our blog, please click here.

by

Planning Smarter for Your Next Vacation

Going on vacation is wonderful: You get to take some time away from the daily grind to relax and have fun, and you’ll return refreshed, healthier, and more productive. But planning a vacation? Well, that’s a different story. Experts agree that, as relaxing as vacations may be, planning them can be a serious source of stress. Worse, planning is something that you have to do well — if the stress gets to you and you make silly planning mistakes, then you’ll seriously sabotage your own vacation. Nobody wants to spend a bunch of money and stress out planning a trip only to find that the vacation itself isn’t as fun as it should be.

You may have made some planning mistakes in the past, but you’re not going to let that happen again. And we’re here to help you keep that commitment. Below, you’ll find some great tips for planning smarter for your next vacation.

Plan early, plan often

The simplest tip for planning smarter is one that you’re probably already well aware of. To get the most out of vacation planning, you need to start early.

You’ll find a lot of reasons for this. For one, starting earlier gives you more time to plan, which means less stress over running out of time. Another important reason to plan early is that you’ll have a better shot at snagging reservations and tickets that your fellow tourists are competing with you to get.

Do something new and exciting

Familiarity can be a wonderful thing when you’re going on vacation. That’s part of why people who can afford to do so often buy vacation homes in favorite spots. But you can do too much of the same-old, same-old on your trip. You should try to do something unique each time you take time off. Maybe it’s something a little out of your comfort zone, or maybe it’s a fast-paced activity that spices up a relaxing week at the lake or on the beach. The point is to add something to your trip that makes it different not only from your daily life, but from your past vacations, too. You should be building memories.

For example, imagine a trip to a favorite beach. Every year you go down to Florida or someplace like it, lie on the beach, eat at the same restaurants, drink the same tiki drinks, and have a good time. But, this year, why not do something fun — like parasailing in West Palm Beach? That’s a great (and safe) way to get an adrenaline rush and do something other than relax under the sun all day, every day.

Leave room in your schedule

If you want your vacation to be relaxing, here’s what not to do: Pack your schedule with careful plans. Planning is good, but you should not overplan.

You’re on vacation. You shouldn’t feel like you’re rushing in the hallways of your old high school, desperate to get to class on time. You shouldn’t feel like you’re being pushed around by Mom and Dad as they hustle you to the summer activities of your youth. This is your trip, and you should enjoy it.

So leave plenty of time — more than you think that you’ll need — to travel between activities. You never know when you’ll want to linger, when traffic might delay you, and so on. Furthermore, don’t have activities in every morning and afternoon slot all vacation long. What if you want to do something spontaneous? What if you want to do nothing at all? Leave open spots when you plan, and you’ll have the freedom to do (or not do) those things.

Bring things and save

Traveling light can reduce stress. But travel too light, and you’ll start seeing how expensive vacations can get. Sure, the resort store is sure to have sunblock, but do you know how much it might cost?

Be smart. If you want to enjoy a cocktail or a beer on the beach, consider hitting up the liquor store before you leave. Head to the pharmacy for sunblock. Pack a lunch for your travel days, and consider going to the grocery store when you arrive at your destination — a few meals at home can make your trip much more affordable.

To read more on topics like this, check out the travel category.

by

Your Home and Your Finances

Owning a home is a beautiful thing — but it’s an expensive one, too! When you make the choice to buy your first home, you alter the course of your financial future. The good news is that, generally speaking, buying a home can help your financial situation in the long run: Instead of wasting money on rent, you’ll be putting equity into a valuable asset. But whether and how much a home purchase improves your financial future depends, to a large degree, on your decision-making and how well you handle the opportunities and challenges that come with owning your own home. Here is everything that you need to know in order to maximize your wealth as a homeowner.

Maximizing your tax savings

Buying a home changes a lot about your life. Some of those ways are obvious in the ways in which they affect your daily reality. Others are things that you’ll be less likely to think about. One significant difference between your pre- and post-home ownership life will be your tax situation.

Unless you’re an accountant or an auditor, you probably don’t spend a lot of time thinking about taxes. After you buy a home, though, you should pay attention — and should probably hire a tax expert to help you navigate your new tax situation, at least for the first year. You want to be sure that you’re maximizing your home-related deductions and not giving Uncle Sam a penny more than you’re legally obligated to!

Mortgages and refinancing

You almost certainly didn’t pay cash for your home, which means that you have a mortgage to pay every month. Be sure to pay your mortgage on time every month and keep up with your finances in order to keep the debt financially healthy! Do that over and over for years, and you’ll eventually own your home free and clear.

At some point, though, you may want to consider taking a second look at the mortgage you’re paying every month. Depending on the interest rates and your long-term plans, you could be better off refinancing.

The benefits of refinancing a home loan are obvious: Refinancing at the right time will lower your interest rate (it can also give you access to the equity that you’ve already put into your home loan). However, there is an up-front cost to refinancing, so it will only be worth it if you stay in your home (and, therefore, keep paying off the loan) for long enough for the savings you gained from the lower interest rate to outweigh what you paid in refinancing costs.

Maintenance and long-term value

Eventually, you may want to sell your home. Even if you don’t, you’ll certainly want it to be as beautiful and as function (not to mention as valuable) as possible. But that takes work!

Whether you’re a new homeowner or have lived in your house for years, you need to remember that maintenance is crucial. A home’s value can deteriorate fast if its owner doesn’t stay on top of seasonal maintenance chores and move quickly to address repair needs.

Energy upgrades

Your home is packed with essential appliance systems that maintain your comfort. Your electricity, your plumbing, your heat — these all help make a house a home. But these systems cost money to use.

How much you pay in energy in your home will depend, to a great extent, on your home itself. If you invest in attic insulation, new windows, and other improvements that keep inside air in and outside air out, then you’ll pay less for your HVAC system each month. Maintenance and repair to your electrical and plumbing systems, as well as efficiency improvements like fluorescent light bulbs and low-flow toilets, can make a huge difference in your bottom line.

To read more on topics like this, check out the finance category.

by

5 Best Marijuana Pipes to Get High

When it comes to consuming marijuana, everybody has their preferred way to get high. But now you have more options available than before. With new approaches and methods popping up every day, it is difficult to recognize which is the best way to consume your favorite flower. Smoking is the traditional way of consuming marijuana, but vaporizers are exceedingly gaining popularity. Another way of consuming weed is by adding it to any food. Therefore, it depends on your preference and how you put price, strength, health, and convenience under consideration.

However, one of the most preferred and efficient means of smoking weed is using marijuana pipes. These are the easiest smoking devices and give you the best bang for the buck. Usually, these smoking pipes come in different sizes, colors, designs, and types. You can choose whatever you feel gives the best smoking experience. This article will take you through one of many marijuana consuming methods, which is using weed smoking pipes to get high. Make sure to read the article to learn more about these devices.

Glass Bowl

Glass Bowl is a classic, and you should own one. They are probably one of the most common weed pipes you can find in the market. Glass bowl/pipes give you a better smoking experience than wooden or metal pipes. They usually come in either clear glass or vibrant colors. However, they are fragile as compared to wood and metal pipes.

Wooden Pipes

Perfect for those stoners who don’t like the idea of using glass pipes. Wooden pipes are typically used to smoke tobacco, but they can be just as good for smoking weed. These pipes are perfect for getting rich and natural weed experience. These pipes are often made attractive through carved designs or by fitting brass or copper mouthpieces.

Water Bong

Another classic when it comes to enjoying weed. It contains different parts including a stem, a bowl, a down stem, and a base that stores water. Bongs come in various types of material such as glass, plastic, ceramic, bamboo, and metal. When it comes to the design of the bong, there are beakers, round base, multi-chamber, and percolators available for you. However, out of all, beakers are most stable because they have a broader base and are as easy to use as straight bongs.

Bubbler

It is a crossover between a traditional pipe and a water bong. If you want to get the same smoking experience as a bong, then this might be the alternative for you and is more portable, smaller, and easy to conceal. Don’t forget to add water into the bottom chamber through the bowl as it will make a huge difference.

One-Hitter Pipes

You might have never heard about them, but these pipes will be a great addition to your collection. One-hitter pipes come in a variety of styles and are perfect for smokers prefer a small bowl of their favorite flower. These convenient and portable pipes will help you control your dosage and conserve your stash. They often come in the shape and design of cigarette, which will make it easier for you to use them in public.

To read more on topics like this, check out the lifestyle category.

by

Are Loyalty Schemes still Worth it?

The initial thinking behind loyalty schemes/cards was to reward regular customers and, in turn, encourage repeat custom. In recent years, these schemes have become rich sources of data for the companies that issue them. This data is in turn used to find out what customers are buying and what they are interested in, with companies enjoying both strategic and financial benefits from the use of this data. Just as technology has advanced, loyalty schemes have, too. As a result, many critics argue that the consumer benefits of this practice are beginning to wane. But if this really the case – and more importantly, are loyalty schemes still worth our time and effort in 2019?

Coffee shops

When looking at the value of loyalty schemes, coffee shops are a great place to start. Many of us are probably already familiar with the stamp system whereby customers are rewarded with a free beverage after so many stamps. Although not strictly a coffee shop, McDonalds still employs this system and it has proven successful for many years. On the other hand, coffee giant, Starbucks, have ditched this scheme in favor of plastic loyalty cards akin to those handed out by supermarkets. Companies are undoubtedly collecting more data from customers in this way but the question is, are they passing on this benefit to the consumer? Starbucks’ current reward scheme states that you have to use you loyalty card 15 times before getting your free beverage which means, unless you drink as much coffee as Twin Peaks’, Agent Cooper, it’s likely that you’re never going to feel a noticeable benefit. As an aside, Coca-Cola recently acquired the UK brand, Costa, so you will now soon be able to comparer the two universal coffe brands’ loyalty schemes here in the U.S.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by さゆり (@jejejunh) on

Online VIP and loyalty services

A number of companies now offer online schemes which revolve around loyalty or paying a monthly premium to enjoy the benefits of VIP membership, which also encourages returning custom. The North Face reward customers with points with every online purchase while companies such as Barnes & Noble operate a VIP membership program which gives you 10% discount off virtually every item on the website.

With online gaming loyalty programs, platforms such as Aspers Casino, offer VIP perks and promotions such as special access to the ‘slot of the month’, and have also put in place different stages of VIP levels, depending on your input. If customers particularly favor a certain game, such as the popular Starburst slot game, for example, the bonuses and perks reward this loyalty and maintain high levels of consumer satisfaction and engagement. Again, your savings really depend on how much you use the service in question. However, The North Face’s scheme has certainly increased customer engagement and is highly praised by many online review sites.

Supermarkets

It’s impossible to talk about loyalty cards and schemes without mentioning supermarkets; after all, they are the most likely to be central to a consumer’s lifestyle than any other. With so many factors to consider, analysis of supermarket loyalty schemes is tough. Special deals and offers within the supermarket industry are transient, and this can have a massive effect on where people choose to do their shopping from one week to the next. Consumer magazine Which? has done a number of studies relating to the relative cost of shopping at ASDA or Tesco (formerly Fresh & Easy in the U.S. – remember them?) for example. With this information, the different loyalty schemes and cards can be factored in to assess their worth to each individual customer.

Source: Pexels

Final thoughts

If you’re looking to save money then loyalty schemes and cards pale in comparison to shopping around for good deals. At the end of the day, it’s worth having a loyalty card as long as you don’t mind handing over your data to “the man”. A loyalty card or scheme should never be your sole reason for shopping in one specific place – but for now, at least, they do have a place within the consumer landscape.

 

by

There’s No Deal to Sell the Property Unless Both Parties Signed the Documents 

round clear glass-top table and five gray chairs dining se

You have to go through a lot before you can find someone to buy your house. You need to advertise the property. If you find people who want to buy it, you need to entertain questions related to the house. You even need to do an open house to welcome all potential buyers.

After opening your house to those who seem interested, you have to be open to negotiation. Even if you already agreed to the amount offered by the potential buyer, it’s still not over for you. There’s a need to prepare all the documents and finalize the sale. Unless that happens, the other party can still change their minds and decide not to buy the house at all. Since you didn’t sign anything yet, you can’t sue the other party for not fulfilling their obligation.

Be ready for any possibilities 

You might find people who really want to buy a property. Others want to test the waters and see how low you’re willing to go. You might also find potential buyers who will tell you that they’re capable of paying for the property when in reality they can’t.

Since you’re selling your house, you need to prepare for whatever happens along the way. The key is not to stress regardless of the people you have to deal with. Eventually, you will find someone who will agree with the market price and sign the deal.

You don’t need to go through that difficult phase

You can avoid the entire process. Another option to sell your house is to look for wholesale buyers. There are firms that will offer you an amount to buy the house right away. There’s no need for you to think about how to advertise your property. You don’t even have to renovate it to improve its value. The offer is reasonable enough and you won’t hesitate to sell it right away.

Another reason is that you’re dealing with reliable companies. They’re willing to buy your house because they can find potential buyers right away. They already have a pool of buyers waiting to find the right property. Others might even renovate your house and sell it at an even higher price. However, you don’t have to deal with those issues. Once you receive the full payment for the sale of the property, you can walk away. You might even receive the payment in cash. You can simply type “sell my house fast Fort Lauderdale” in your favorite search engine online if you want to partner with a wholesale buyer in the city now.

Selling a house takes time and it could cause a headache. You don’t need to feel that way if you can choose a straightforward process. You can still hope to find a buyer who will offer you a much higher price, but you can’t hold your breath until that time comes.

You should sell the house now and use the amount for whatever expenses you have.

Image: https://unsplash.com/photos/9rYfG8sWRVo