Hacks for Cars and Motorbikes

In honour of our Discover Motoring section, we thought the hacks this month should be useful for the motorists amongst us. Therefore we are featuring some for the drivers of cars amongst us and others for motorbike riders. These are not technical recommendations but rather useful ideas of convenience, to just make your motoring a more enjoyable experience.

Wear Gloves

When on a bike if your palms get sweaty and slippery in the heat, or as we are now in the rainy season the handlebars get wet, it’s a good idea to wear gloves for a better grip. Ideally, leather gloves as they can also offer you some protection in the event of a fall. However, failing that plastic surgical ones can be handy (forgive the pun), especially for the rainy season.

Use a Flattened Drinks Can

Again during the rain, if you find yourself having to park on a slippery surface like mud or grass, use a soft drink can. Flatten the can and then use it to centre your bike’s side stand on, it will keep the stand and your bike upright.

Newspaper for drying

If you get your boots wet in the middle of a road trip and don’t have the luxury of air-drying them over several days you can use newspaper. Just ball up some pages, and put them in your boots, repeat this practice throughout the day whenever you stop and if you keep the newspaper in overnight by morning, your boots should be dry and good to go.

Check what you’rewearing on your bike

A motorbike hardly offers any protection in case of an accident so always make sure to wear your helmet, anti-slip shoes and a jacket, for better safety. During the rainy season, you may also find it necessary to keep a plastic mac in the bike to protect your clothes during a sudden rain shower. These can be picked up easily and inexpensively from 7/11 and Familymart stores.

Keep Baby Wipes on hand

Keep baby wipes handy: When you have to clean your bike, helmet, and riding gear quickly, use baby wipes. They are easy to carry and economical. Also useful to keep in the car especially if you have kids or a baby on board

A handy tip to keep the inside of your car tidy

We spend a lot of time in our cars. and rubbish can accumulate quickly, especially for those of us who have kids or take long road trips. Wrappers, crumbs, bags, and more can end up covering our seats and floor mats. So it’s a good idea to have an empty cereal packet in the car and use it as the designated garbage can. Then you can empty it when full at the next available trash bin.

Alternative air freshener

Some of the most popular car air fresheners are either an eye-sore or can obstruct your view. Opt instead for a cheaper and less visible version by placing a few dryer sheets in the little pockets, nooks, and crannies in your vehicle.

Keep your take-homes hot

OK so most of us have discovered the convenience of Grab and Foodpanda but this hack is if you do happen to collect pizza to bring it home. If your car has seat warmers turn them on and just put your pizza on the passenger seat – you’ll never arrive home with a cold pizza again.

Quick cleaning tip

If your headlights aren’t helping in darkness or fog and you don’t yet need to replace the bulbs, squeeze a bit of toothpaste on a rag and scrub them with it. Then, wet the clean part of the rag and wipe them down and you’ll notice the difference when you’re done.

Another use for clear nail varnish!

Until you can get a window crack professionally fixed, there is a way to avoid making it worse. First ensure that any dirt is cleaned off, then fill the cracked area and also the area slightly outside the crack with clear acrylic nail polish. When it dries, it will help seal the cracked area to prevent it from spreading until you can get it professionally repaired.