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Cafe Racer: A Cafe Racer is a style of
bike popularized in London in the '50s where bikers
wanted a fast, personalized and distinctive bike to
travel from cafe to cafe. Many Cafe Racer bikes have
distinctive small low-cut fairings.
Cam: A metal shaft with oval
"lobes" that rotates to open the valves in
a four-stroke engine.
Carburetor: A mechanical device found on
the intake side of the engine which mixes fuel and
air to create the volatile mixture that gets ignited
in the engine.
Casualty: A loss of property due to fire,
storm shipwreck or other casualty, which is
allowable as a deduction in computing taxable
income.
Cause of Action: The plaintiff's legal
claim against the defendant. There is often more
than one cause of action in a lawsuit.
Chaps: Chaps are a great clothing
accessory designed for protection. They're usually
made of leather and are fastened around the waist,
with an open back. They snap at the ankles and zip
down the legs.
Chopper: A cruiser style bike that has a
lot of the pieces of the bike "chopped
off." The riders of the '60s did everything
they could to customize their bikes and make them go
faster. Thus, much of the existing bikes they bought
were chopped off. The bikes in the movie "Easy
Rider" are examples.
Civil Law: That part of the law which
governs relationships between people where there is
no criminal activity involved.
Clip Ons: Handlebars that are clamped
around the top of the fork tubes, rather than bolted
to the top triple-tree. This lowers a rider's upper
body on the front of the motorcycle for a racier
body position.
Co-Defendant: A defendant joined together
with one or more other defendants in the same case.
Common Law: Body of law that has grown
based on the decisions of courts long ago. It
originated in England and has since passed to the
United States. It is always changing to reflect the
current needs society.
Comparative Negligence: A defense to
negligence used when it is believed that the
plaintiff's negligence contributed to his or her
injuries. Based on the amount of negligence by each
party, the amount of damages is adjusted
accordingly.
Complaint: A pretrial document filed in a
court by one party against another that states a
grievance, called a "cause of action."
Contingency Fee Agreement: An agreement
between an attorney and their client, which allows
the attorney to be paid only if the client prevails
in a lawsuit and collects monetary damages. The
lawyer then receives a percentage of the damages,
generally 1/3 of the award.
Contributory Negligence: A defense to
negligence, which points out that the plaintiff's
negligence contributed to his or her injuries.
Contributory negligence is an absolute bar to the
plaintiff's recovery against the defendant.
Co-Rider: An enclosure on the front of the
bike containing the windshield and affording wind
protection to the rider. Can be attached to the
frame and not move or be attached to the fork and
move as the handlebars are turned.
Counterbalancer: A weight in the engine
that spins with the rpm to smooth out engine
vibrations.
Counterclaim: A demand by the defendant
against the plaintiff asserting an independent cause
of action in the same lawsuit.
Countersteering: The input a motorcyclist
gives to the handlebars in order to steer: push the
right handlebar to go right, or push the left
handlebar to go left.
Crotch Rocket: A term some people use to
describe a high performance sport bike motorcycle.
Cruiser: A style of motorcycle generally
equipped with a low seat and pullback handlebars.
This style of bike predominantly stems from the
customizing of standard American motorcycles in the
'60s and '70s.
Custom Motorcycles: For many
motorcyclists, the choices provided by the
motorcycle manufacturers do not provide enough
variety to match the personalities of the riders.
For this reason, many customize their bikes or hire
customizers to do the work for them. Many of these
customs are entered in shows and win prizes. Customs
can easily cost twice the selling price of the
original bike.
