Bill Muneio

There are some things that will never be explained. The other day I went for a ride and as always I grabbed my Spot satellite messenger and attached it to the bike. It was a great day and everything was nice and green from the recent rains. Meandering along some of my favorite local back roads, I enjoyed a late afternoon ride and got home just before dark . I parked the bike and got off. It was then that I realized that the Spot was gone; it obviously had fallen off during the ride. Well since it’s a tracking device it shouldn’t be to hard to find, right? So I quickly went to the computer and brought up the tracking page to determine where it was. It had fallen off on a tight hairpin turn on a road called Harris Grade about 60 miles from home; I remembered the turn. My hopes were slightly dashed when I saw it hadn’t transmitted a message for over an hour. It usually transmits about every 20 minutes give or take, hmmm had someone found it and turned it off? Well, I had to go back and see. It was getting dark by now but my curiosity had gotten the better of me and I just couldn’t wait until morning. After two hours of driving I didn’t find it that night and had pretty much given up hope, I figured somebody had picked it up and it was gone for good. When I got home I looked at the computer one more time just for the hell of it…it had moved! It was now about .5 miles back up the road! I wasn’t going to drive back up there again; not tonight anyway, but I continued to monitor it on the computer until I went to bed that night; there was no other movement no transmission at all. In the morning I took another look on the computer, just in case. What the hell, it was transmitting again and had been since about 2am. Now I was really curious, I had to go check it out. I called my partner at work and told him the story and said I would be in later. I plugged the exact coordinates of the last transmission into my GPS and headed out. I half expected to find it with some crack head who had been up all night trying figure out what it was. I followed the gps to the coordinates and low and behold, I was directed to the same turn out I had stopped at to take some pictures during my ride , but there was no Spot to be seen. I had brought my laptop but as I figured there was no wifi up there so I couldn’t tell if it had moved or was still transmitting even. I decided to drive up the road a little carefully scanning the the roadside, nothing. Looks like I’m S.O.L. I turned around and headed back home. That was two wasted trips up here, damn! Wait a minute…Holy Shit there it is on the opposite side of the road about 500 yds before the turnout I had stopped at earlier, just lying on the shoulder. I’ll be damned I found it! Here’s the thing though when I looked at the pictures from the ride, I can clearly see that the Spot is still on my bike at the turnout, so how did it get 500yds back up the road?? Maybe the crackheads found it and gave up trying to call for a pizza with it. I’ll never know but I’m glad to have found it and glad to know if it had been me lying off the side of the road with it, someone would have found me.

by Jeff Cobb as written for Motorcycle.com

It’s ironic that while our machines are practically one step removed from Star Wars technology, the culture surrounding their use is one step removed from the Wild West.

The American approach to safety for motorcyclists and scooterists – that is, our attitudes and practices – is essentially a world of anything goes; each person must choose amidst a culture fraught with mixed messages and conflicting agendas.

Helmet? No helmet? Full face? Half helmet? Head-to-toe gear? Leather jacket and jeans? Shorts and T-shirt? A little training? A lot? None?

In 2007 (latest data available), according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the number of on-road motorcycles registered topped 7.1 million. But while fatalities among other roadway users have declined – particularly auto drivers, which in 2008 recorded the fewest deaths in 47 years – NHTSA contends that motorcyclist fatalities have increased steadily for the past 10 years even when factored for increased registrations.

This is further contrasted to the fact that in nearly every other human endeavor today, people are clamoring for – and basically getting – more and more safety.

You have air bags and other safety devices in cars, protection from pesticides in foods, safety in children’s toys to the point of being ludicrous, such as the lead ban, safety on walkways for shoppers and restaurant-goers, heck, even campaigns to promote safe sex…

But when it comes to powered two wheelers, there are no universally agreed upon standards. None.

Today about 21 states require full-time helmet use and most require eye protection. Other than that, if you want to tour the country on your turbo Hayabusa in a Speedo (or realistically, jeans, T-shirt, no helmet), have at it. Or, if you want to wear head-to-toe armored gear, you can do that too.

Try exercising the first option in Germany.

In America, we call it freedom. And just to be clear: Freedom is great. We all love freedom, and this is no pitch to remove our rights as riders.

But this country’s founders said freedom is a social contract assuming some responsibilities on citizens. One price of freedom is people must agree to do their best to exercise good judgment and do what’s best to improve their quality of life, which is what freedom is supposed to be for. Self-restraint and wise personal choices are supposed to be in place if external laws are not.

These kinds of arguments are what justified our extremely free country in the first place.

As it is, the U.S. is unlike other countries with nationally mandated standards for rider safety. Here each state decides what if any gear is appropriate.

This is what We the People have chosen. But in spite of this, injuries and deaths continue to increase, and a lot of people shake their heads in disbelief.

When I asked Andrea Nalesso, sales marketing manager for Dainese, which country has the least regard for motorcycle safety, he said it’s “very much the U.S., which is the worst among the countries that I know.” In the phone interview, which took place from Indianapolis a year ago, he added, “The United States is the country with the least awareness about safety.”

Nalesso – an Italian who happened to be in the States that week helping Valentino Rossi as his safety gear supplier – travels the world and he’s in the business, so he has some perspective. Nor is he the only person with this view. Many others say the same.

About the only safety measure America has pushed that Germany has not is artificially low speed limits. By catering to the lowest common denominator, this minimizes competence required to get on (and stay on) the road.

Germany also has tiered licensing, which requires you to qualify to ride a big bike, but this will likely never happen here, as long as every state is doing its own thing.

As it is, in the absence of clear standards, motorcyclists and scooterists generally agree that we cannot really agree on much of anything. What we have are different camps, each with their own innate sensibility of acceptable safe practices.

There are extremes too, each pushing opposite agendas. On one hand, you have the ATGATT crowd (all the gear all the time) – usually racers, ex-racers, safety instructors, marketers selling safety gear and services, and others who believe gear is your only protection in a nasty get-off.

On the other extreme are the motorcyclists’ rights organizations, or MROs. These groups – while also made up from experienced riders – have a different take on things.

Since 1975, they have successfully employed grassroots efforts leading to nationwide lobbying techniques to wage campaigns advocating libertarian ideals for riders. They can sometimes come across as the new American patriots.

Their most active advocates have made it a mission of writing editorials, creating fact sheets and assembling statistics to show state legislators and other decision makers why helmet laws should be not universally mandatory for those of adult age (usually 18 or 21).

On the far fringe of this group, some go beyond the neutral message of “let those who ride decide,” and suggest or state outright that crashing with a helmet could be more dangerous than without a helmet.

Yes, there are some who’d like to prove a helmet is often an anti-safety device and are very energetic and determined to do so (and this is putting it politely).

Citing anecdotes and some statistics, such far from center evangelists say helmets could cause a basal skull fracture, or neck snap due to whiplash, or could impair hearing or visibility.

To help preserve our freedoms, arguments against helmet laws have been presented by bikers, who have been known to roar their bikes (some believe loud pipes save lives, after all) to the capitol building to share the information with legislators pending a helmet law repeal vote.

But these folks are not against safety. They just don’t agree – and that is their right – that the helmet is such a major issue. They would much rather talk about avoiding the crashes in the first place.

And that particular argument does have a lot of merit. Drivers are often way too distracted as they send text messages, fiddle with food or makeup, argue with kids as they try to help each child load his or her personal DVD player. What is more, larger, taller vehicles make for nasty body slams, and four-wheel vehicles on average are now bigger than ever…

So absolutely, a large number of motorists are unwitting vehicular homicides waiting to happen. But does that mean a helmet is still not a better bet?

Why would enlightened free citizens even need a law to force them to be safe? Sure, “let those who ride decide.” To whom it applies: How about voluntarily deciding to gear up?

There’s a reason why every powersports race sanctioning body in the U.S. mandates helmets (and full gear) for racers.

There’s a reason why American football players wear a helmet – and full pads. Now granted, football is a contact sport where you are guaranteed to collide.

In motorcycling, you hope you will not make contact. But if you did, how would you want to be dressed?

In any case, what ever your situation, it is a gamble. And like gambling, it’s fun to win, but not fun to lose. If you ever found yourself with multiple fractures, it might change your feelings about your level of risk tolerance.

Which brings us to another topic: Inherent risk.

Motorcycles are a carryover from a time when everyone faced greater risk. In 1899, when motorcycles were in their infancy, we had far less effective healthcare and medicine, and no insurance. Our lives were altogether less secure and there was practically no one you could sue.

And while in nearly every other arena security has since improved, motorcycles can only be so safe. Honda, BMW, and others are experimenting with airbags and improved ABS, but you’ll probably never see a crash cage on a motorcycle.

This is the risk you accept. This is reality. You are a 21st century person enjoying a 21st century version of a 19th century experience.

And for some risk takers, the perverse or interesting thing – you decide – is that it’s a blast to get away with flirting with disaster. Researchers have found brain chemistry for die-hard risk takers (such as dopamine levels) is amped up while taking chances, and they live for the rush.

In contrast, there is another element in society that does not quite see it the way we do: those in favor of safety legislation.

Some are known to ask: If a rider splats himself on the highway, racks up huge medical bills, and becomes dependent on the state, why should society have to pay?

And, they ask, is it fair that individual rights take precedence over the rights of the many? If a rider was breaking the law when he went down, that is all the more egregious to people of this mindset.

These people do not look at motorcyclists as enlightened citizens enjoying their rights as free men and women. They see the effects of some adults acting like adolescents, not taking all reasonable precautions. They see an unruly group that needs to be controlled.

Their arguments take on further legitimacy because they mirror the reasoning that’s already been used to push other safety legislation – such as seatbelt usage – into existence.

The back and forth rhetoric gets a fresh rehash every time a local rider dies without a helmet, and some editorialist spouts off about how stupid riders are for not using one.

If a big enough splash happens, it has been known to help tip the scales, such as when Gary Busey suffered brain damage in 1988, and in 1992 California went back to being a helmet state.

Today, the debate has become a public relations battle, and the holy grail of rights is to go without a helmet, particularly by MRO advocates in front of lawmakers. And frankly, I mostly agree with the MROs; a person should have the right, as long as they do not cost other people.

To me, the real question however is what is smart? What level of risk are you willing to take, and have you thought it all the way through? If carrying a passenger, have you explained it to him or her so they can make informed decisions?

Motorcycling is often a pursuit of passion, not always guided by strictly rational, logical thinking. A lot of riders will not bother with gear simply because it seems too expensive, too hot, too inconvenient, or not in style with their crowd.

And this lackadaisical attitude doesn’t just apply to safety gear and helmets, but also to training.

Getting properly trained, taking refresher courses, or at least proactively doing your own practice drills is a great idea. Simply riding does not prepare you as well for accident avoidance.

But, objectively speaking, how can we really know what’s safer? Is there any science behind these opinions?

Some research has been done. About 10 years ago, the Europeans did the comprehensive MAIDS study, and there is the 1981 “Hurt Report” (Motorcycle Accident Cause Factors and Identification of Countermeasures).

This year, even though Harry Hurt says his findings are still basically valid, the first American “motorcycle crash causation study” since 1981 was intended to begin forensically examining 900 motorcycle accidents over a three-year period.

To fund the study, in 2006 Congress promised a whopping $2.5 million. In 2007, the motorcycle community came up with their part of the deal pledging $3 million. And by the time it was ready to start, costs were estimated at $8-10 million. So it has gone nowhere.

The per-American expenditure to shed further light on saving lives – at a time when motorcyclist numbers were peaking along with their incidences of death and injury – was astonishingly low.

In their defense, some say the feds – which in any case found billions to bail out corrupt insurance industry execs and mismanaged businesses – offered too little only because the motorcycle community underestimated the costs.

Further the motorcycle community “stakeholders” had within its ranks those not exactly gushing with enthusiasm. There were some who, A) said they doubted the study could get quality data, and B) did not want to see more data confirming ideas that could threaten their lifestyle – such as findings that a full-face helmet (as Hurt already demonstrated) was absolutely a better idea.

So where do things stand today? The U.S. culture of motorcycle safety, while seeing some terrific innovations in gear and training, exists in a largely unregulated environment where some riders disagree with and contradict other riders regarding best safe practices.

But while it may be like the Wild West, if you get trained, continue to train throughout your motorcycling career, wear the best gear you can, honestly assess your risk – and use your freedom wisely – you can be like the hero who wins the gunfight, instead of one of the hapless characters who gets shot down.

What do you think? Leave your comments below.

Jeff Cobb is the editor and publisher of Motorcycle Safety News.

I’ve always wished my bike had a tire pressure monitoring
system and now it can for $200.00 Ouch!

Summary
The TireGard wireless TPMS, or Tire Pressure Monitoring System is easy to use, light weight and accurate, but expensive.

Read the full review from Web Bike World. http://www.webbikeworld.com/r4/tiregard-wireless-tpms/

Improve your visual perception to be safer on the road.
This test will demonstrate how quickly your eyes and mind work together if you are attentive.
Keep trying untill you earn a perfect score.

Click Here To See Test Image

By Richard Pierce

There I was on a customized BSA 650 racing bike skidding sideways at more than 40 MPH through a full yellow light at a busy intersection and wondering if not having my rear wheel directly behind me meant I was about to automatically take a spill. It was my first year as a rider and there was nobody to ask if a big bike could be maneuvered successfully through a skid like that. Well, obviously, it could and I managed to hold the bike through the skid and not destroy myself after all.

From that intersection began more than 25 years of appreciating and applying survival rules and strategies for serious riders of large motorcycles. Make no bones about it, your life is on the line every moment you are on a motorcycle. That’s why riding is so special. It can humble you at any moment. That’s why you should move up to the biggest bike you can handle as soon as possible. Bigger bike, bigger brakes! Bigger bike, bigger acceleration — bigger chance to get away quicker from trouble. Bigger bikes are safer bikes.

Here are what I consider to be the most important rules to ride more safely:

Watch Out! — Intersections are extremely dangerous. Intersections are the most dangerous objects you encounter in everyday riding. Never trust a clear intersection if there are buildings blocking your view to the left. Any 4 wheeler traveling at 40 MPH or more is still out of sight during the first few seconds after the light turns green and, worst of all, if he has already decided to run the light, he is actually accelerating as he enters and occupies the intersection. If you collide, you can be seriously injured or worse.

Rule #1: NEVER jump a green light! If you are lined up first to make a left turn at a busy intersection, do not jump the arrow. Take your sweet time. A delay of only 3 or 4 seconds can save you and your bike. Always take an aggressively defensive posture with all 4 wheelers. All 4 wheelers are extremely dangerous. Assume that they can’t see you. Don’t trust their turn signals. Watch the wheels of all parked 4 wheelers for movement as they are prone to pull out without warning. On the highway, try to not let them pass you. You should move a little faster than they do and pass them instead.

Rule #2: Above all remember, drivers won’t see you and they don’t care. Assume all 4 wheelers have low-skill-level drivers. Never underestimate the risk factors that cars represent to riders. Drivers have not studied safe driving strategies. They do not realize that a 3500 pound automobile is several magnitudes more dangerous than a fully loaded and cocked handgun. Drivers do not concentrate on driving when they are behind the wheel. They make phone calls and think about work. They look at maps and even read books. They often take their eyes off the road for a wide variety of reasons.

Rule #3: Expect the unexpected from all of the 4 wheelers. Believe it or not, up to 80% of your power to stop resides in your front brakes. In fact, the rear brakes are often referred to as “trailing” brakes used only to keep the bike in trim during normal braking. They should be “feathered” only. You should squeeze the front brakes with authority and not worry about going over the handlebars, you won’t. It is also suggested that you hold on to the bike with your knees whenever you are executing any maneuver beyond casual cruising, like turns and heavy braking. It will help you “stay” with your bike in an emergency. Hold on to your bike. Ride it as long as you can.

Rule #4: Your ability to stop is almost entirely in your right hand. Don’t under use it. Don’t throw your weight around. You can’t control the direction of a large frame motorcycle correctly by throwing your weight from side to side as you can with a small bike like a 250 cc or even a 400 cc machine. In drastic situations, such as severe avoidance or heavy braking, a working knowledge of counter steering can save your life.

The good news is that you are already using this technique unconsciously so it is easy to master it once it has been explained. The term “counter steering” gets its name from the fact that moving the handlebar of a two wheeler at speed seems to act backwards from what the untrained rider might expect. If you push the right handlebar forward just a fraction of an inch the motorcycle will dive to the right not the left. Push the left handlebar forward and the bike dips sharply to the left. What is really happening with the change of the handlebar position is a change in the attack angle of the front tire. As it moves up the side wall, the bike is forced to travel in the corresponding direction. Try practicing to get a feel of just how little correction is needed to change the direction of travel. Just a touch will amaze you. It is a powerful steering technique.

Rule #5: Big bikes are controlled best by counter steering the handlebars. Focus on the moment. Don’t let your mind wander. Don’t think about anything not related to exactly what is happening at each moment of your ride. Be totally alert to your surroundings as if your life depends on it. It does. Take heart, one of the reasons that people never tire of riding is because they must focus on it entirely while they are doing it and the fact that their very life is on the line.

Rule #6: Be Here Now

Selecting your gear

Always make sure you are riding in a gear that will allow you to accelerate sharply at the slightest provocation, because being able to accelerate faster than any 4 wheeler is one of your main defensive advantages. Getting caught at 30 miles an hour in 4th gear slowing down for a light makes you a sitting duck if evasive maneuvers become necessary.

Rule #7: Down shift as you slow down so you can zoom away at all times.

Corollary: All turns should be made in 2nd gear and your RPMs should never be allowed to dip below 2000.

Controlling lane placement

Take a good look at a well travelled highway traffic lane and you will immediately notice a ribbon of discolorization running down the middle. That’s oil, dirt and grease deposited by the cars. Don’t ride on it! Ride where the car’s tires ride; either to the left or right of the center. This is especially important during the first half hour of rainfall as the water brings up the oily deposits to a very slippery state.

On two lane country-type roads choose the right side as far away from oncoming traffic as possible. On three lane highways, choose the left side of the fast lane where possible and NEVER ride on the entrance (right) lane any longer than necessary.

Corollary: When crossing steel mesh bridges, choose the extreme left or right side and cross the span diagonally at an angle to the mesh. This will limit vibration and wobbling and remember to not fight the wobble — it is normal to wobble a little even using the diagonal strategy.

Dealing with a possible fall

They say there are two kinds of riders. The ones who have fallen and the ones who are going to fall. If that’s true, then knowing what you can do if and when you do fall is valuable information. Based on that please observe the following:

You won’t feel yourself falling. It’s instantaneous.  If you can stay with your bike, stay with it. If you find yourself skidding without your bike stay with it without trying to slow yourself down. Keep your arms and legs elevated. Try to position yourself so that your legs are leading the skid and keep your eyes open so that you can hopefully use your legs and knees to cushion anything you might bump into before to come to a complete stop. Please note that skidding is preferable to rolling because rolling is conducive to broken bones. There is little you can do to protect yourself in a roll except to use your arms to form a barrel shape and hold it rigidly until you lose enough energy to attempt to stop.  When you stop, don’t try to get up unless you are still in danger from other vehicles. You may be injured more than you can know. Stay down and wait for help.

Rule #8: Better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it.  You may never fall, but don’t count on it. Be prepared mentally and physically. Dress for the worst situation imaginable. Dress for a fall. That means leather gloves. Leather jacket and pants or, at least, jeans. Real leather boots, a SNELL rated helmet with chin protection and some form of eye protection like shatterproof glasses or Lexan eye shield.

Rule #9: Riding on the back of someone else’s motorcycle. In two words, DO NOT! After more than 25 years of riding, I can’t think of a worse place to be than on the back of someone else’s bike. All of the danger and none of the control. Sheer folly and life threateningly stupid.

Rule #10: Don’t ride on the back of anyone else’s motorcycle, ever. You bear all the risks with none of the controls. Even a sport bike handles like mush when there is someone up on the back.

Final thought

Getting lost: Be advised, getting lost on a bike ups the danger quotient to all situations. Your mentality is burdened by factors to be considered because you are lost. Be more careful than ever as these factors make your mind work on more problems simultaneously.

Richard E Pierce is a long-time Livingston resident, President of the Livingston Sunrise Rotary Club, and long-time motorcycle safety advocate and rider.

Agree or disagree with an item posted on my blog? Spot an inaccuracy?  Have your voice heard! I welcome all readers to leave comments or sugesstions. Submit below.

To see atrticle in it’s original content go here: http://thealternativepress.com/column.asp?COL=guest&ID=689

The Motorcycle Safety Foundation has just introduced a new online rider perception test. I think they did a great job with this, it’s fun and informative. Give it a try. Would love to here what you think? Leave comments below.

Rider Perception Test

SPOT Expands Product Line with the New SPOT Satellite GPS Messenger – 30% Smaller and Lighter Offering Advanced Capabilities and Feature-Rich Enhancements

SALT LAKE CITY, UT – (July 21, 2009) —SPOT LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Globalstar, Inc. (NASDAQ: GSAT) and a leader in personal satellite messaging and emergency communications today introduced its new SPOT Satellite GPS Messenger™. The new SPOT Satellite GPS Messenger™ is 30% smaller and lighter than the original SPOT Satellite personal tracker, offers additional custom messaging modes, and uses a state-of-the-art GPS chipset and satellite communications to provide enhanced reliability and performance. SPOT LLC is showcasing its line of products and services this week at the Outdoor Retailer Summer Market Conference in booth number 36191 at the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City, Utah.

“Since market introduction, the award-winning original SPOT has initiated more than 250 rescues and sent millions of peace-of-mind and track-me messages around the world. We have listened to our customers’ suggestions and are proud to introduce today the second-generation SPOT Satellite GPS Messenger with its increased features and utility,” said Darren Bassel, director of global marketing, SPOT LLC. “Today’s announcement further demonstrates our continued commitment to expand our product line and develop integrated services like SPOT Assist roadside assistance providing advanced personal satellite communications to increase safety for our customers on a daily basis.” The new SPOT Satellite GPS Messenger™ will include the following new features designed to enhance customer usability:

• 30% smaller and lighter than the original model at 5.2 ounces
• New enhanced satellite antenna for improved performance in foliage or canopied environments
• Advanced GPS performance chipset
• GPS Acquisition light
• “Message Sending” indicator light
• Dedicated GPS Tracking button
• New, dedicated pre-programmable Custom Message button
• Protective covers over S.O.S and Help button to prevent inadvertent message transmission
• Illuminated buttons
• Choice of orange or silver
• Included case and neoprene fastening band

The new model includes globally recognized symbols for its message buttons to accommodate use in international markets and stimulate distribution to a growing customer base in North and South America, Europe, Asia and Australia.

“The active outdoor enthusiasts such as hikers, boaters, pilots, riders, remote workers and travelers will continue to enjoy the new SPOT Satellite GPS Messenger ™ for its ruggedness while its smaller compact size and weight is ideal for portable use,” continues Bassel.  “The smaller size and ease-of-use will appeal to our broader consumer markets including the family on-the-go or anyone who spends time in the areas with unreliable cellular service.”Equipped with two, notification LED’s and six function buttons the new SPOT Satellite GPS Messenger™ transmits activated messages based on varying levels of need:

• OK/Check in lets contacts know where you are and that you’re okay
• Track Progress sends and saves your location and allows contacts to track your progress in real-time using Google Maps™
• Help notifies your contacts or SPOT Assist professional services of your GPS location and need for assistance
• SOS/9-1-1 Alert notifies an emergency rescue coordination center of your GPS location
• Custom Message button sends a pre-programmed message to your personal contacts

Since market introduction, the award-winning SPOT Satellite GPS Messenger™ has initiated more than 250 rescues and sent over 10 million peace-of-mind and track-me messages around the world. As of March 31, 2009 the Company had received orders to ship more than 120,000 units and it currently has a growing global network of more than 8,000 points of distribution.

Availability:

The new SPOT Satellite GPS Messenger(TM) is scheduled to be available at select retailers later this fall.  To find a SPOT retailer in the United States please visit the SPOT dealer locator at http://findmespot.com/en/locateadealer/

.SPOT Unveils Next Generation Satellite GPS Messenger at Outdoor Retailer.

Check out this new ultra lightweight carbon fiber helmet. The Akuma Phantom II is one of the lightest helmets on the market and the first helmet to come with a genuine Solfx photochromatic visor that changes darkness based on the amount of UV light and the ambient temperature.

Available at HPC

Click on the link below for the full review.

Akuma Phantom II Helmet – webBikeWorld.