Passes & Canyons Blog

We were coming down from the Black Hills and had been in Nebraska for about an hour when we stopped at a table along the road. There was another guy there, in a car, and we struck up a conversation with him. Along the way he mentioned, “This is a bucket state, by the way.”

Oh really? We hadn’t known that and we had been riding without helmets on. Oops. We had done the same thing a year or two earlier when we rode into Nevada for the first time. Somehow we got all the way to Las Vegas before we learned they required helmets.

Of course that was a long time ago, before the Internet, and we could be excused our ignorance. Back then it wasn’t easy to know what different state laws are. And if a state does require helmets, why the heck don’t they put up a sign at the border that says so?

There’s no excuse anymore for being ignorant of the laws in a state you’ll be riding to. The Internet does exist now, and one excellent place to check up on all states is a handy page on the American Motorcyclist Association’s website. You go there and there’s a map of the U.S. Click on the state you want to know about and it takes you to a listing of what they require and forbid.

The very first item on the list, presumably because this is the most common question, is the helmet requirements, if any. Other information includes the following:

• Safety Helmet
• State Funded Rider Ed
• Eye Protection
• Daytime Use of Headlight
• Passenger Seat
• Passenger Footrest
• Passenger Age Restriction
• Helmet Speakers
• Periodic Safety Inspection
• Mirror Left(L) Right(R)
• Radar Detector
• Turn Signals
• Muffler
• Maximum Sound Level
• State Insurance Requirements
• Handlebar Height
• Rider-Education
• Accept Motorcycle Endorsement From Other States
• Accept RiderEd Completion Card From Other States
• Motorcycles operating two abreast in same lane
• Lane Splitting
• Lemon Law Coverage

I’ll bet you didn’t even know that some states have requirements or prohibitions in some of these areas. Heck, you might even learn something about your own state laws.

Any by the way, the page also has separate legal requirements for off-road bikes. All in all it’s a lot of good information.

Recent from National Motorcycle Examiner
Fly and be groped or ride and have fun: Your choice

Biker Quote for Today

Remember when sex was safe and motorcycles were dangerous?

Just 11 days ago I was reporting that the long-awaited new motorcycle safety study was ready to begin, after being seemingly derailed by a financing issue. Now I’m back to report that it’s not smooth sailing after all. And two of the big players on the team appear to be moving in opposite directions.

The safety study is to be funded in part by a government grant and in part by matching contributions. Among other donors, two of the big motorcycle organizations, the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) and the Motorcycle Safety Foundation (MSF) had committed to helping fund the study. Now, AMA is in favor of pushing on even though the dollars committed will not be enough to do the full-scale study originally envisioned. The MSF, on the other hand, has said that “we believe the study will not provide sufficient statistical significance of the OECD identified study variables and the MSF Board of Trustees has determined that MSF must continue to make its commitment of funds contingent upon a sample size of at least 900 cases.”

Where this leaves the study is not at all clear. Fully $2.8 million of the money for the study was to have come from the motorcycle industry through the MSF. While the MSF statement wished the researchers well in achieving “what can only reasonably be expected,” without the MSF’s $2.8 million it would seem that even the limited study will be underfunded. In other words, the MSF figures they hold the trump card and they’re playing it. Full study or none.

The AMA reported the MSF’s statement but as yet has issued no follow-up statement of its own. We’ll just have to keep watching to see how this all plays out.

Recent from National Motorcycle Examiner
Trying a textile mesh motorcycle jacket after years of wearing leather

Biker Quote for Today

When you find yourself in a ditch the first thing to do is ease off the throttle.

I have a proposition for you. How about if you do some work and I’ll take possession of it, for no fee. Of course, I’ll let you use it, as long as you meet my terms. I may revoke your right, however.

That, in a nutshell is what you have to agree to if you want a press pass to the AMA Nationals.

Every year out at Thunder Valley Motocross Park here in the Denver area they hold one of the races that make up the AMA Motocross Championships. This year the event is set for June 27. I figured I’d go and take advantage of my press affiliation to get in free and get some preferential treatment in doing my coverage.

I contacted the appropriate people and they sent along the 2009 Pro Motocross Media Guidelines, complete with a waiver for me to sign and return to them. Sure this is just standard stuff and if you want to play you have to play by their rules, but I read what I was about to sign anyway.

Holy smokes! Read this:

Media Members agree and hereby do assign to MX Sports and its affiliates (collectively, “MX Sports Entities”), all copyrights in any or all still or motion picture . . . or any other form of media captured . . . MX Sports hereby grant to Media Member a royalty-free, non-exclusive, limited, revocable license (“Licensee”) to use the Works, illustrating, describing, relating to, or referring to the Event(s) for editorial purposes only.

Oh, thank you so much for allowing me to use my own pictures for free.

I’m still going to go to the races, but I’m not sending in the press credentials form. I’ll pay my way in and I’ll jostle with the crowds to get the best coverage I can. But I’ll own my own work.

Recent from the National Motorcycle Examiner
An experienced motorcyclist’s lessons in humility

Biker Quote for Today

Well, sister, the time has come for me to ride hard and fast. – Rooster Cogburn

Magazine reviews are a great source of information when you’re thinking about buying a used motorcycle. Now the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) has made almost its entire backlog of American Motorcyclist magazines available online for free. From what I see, it looks like the only issues not available are the most recent ones, which stands to reason considering that the magazine is a member benefit.

In a partnership with Google, the magazines are available in a searchable format, although you can only search one month’s issue at a time. Too bad you can’t say “give me all articles about Eric Buell from between 1995 to 2000.” But hey, I’m not going to be a choosy beggar.

The way you get to the magazines is a little tricky, but having navigated it myself I’ll make it easier for you.

First you’ll want to go to http://books.google.com and enter “American Motorcyclist” in the search field. This will take you to a results page and at the top of the list is one for the magazine itself. That’s the one you want.

Click that and you go to the issue pictured, and if that’s the issue you want you’re set. If you want to see a different issue, click “Browse all issues” over on the right. Then dig your way through the archives.

Recent from Denver Motorcycle Examiner
Choosing your perfect motorcycle: If the scoot fits ride it

Biker Quote for Today

As the writer inscribes paper with ink and words, so the motorcyclist cuts a line through sheer space using angles and velocity as letters and punctuation. — Mark C. Taylor and Jose Marquez

I am struck by the number of bikers being killed. If you search the web, as I do, for motorcycle-related news items, the reports of biker deaths are endless.

On most days there are several. Of course, today, when I planned to copy in the headlines here to make my point, there are none. Today is not a typical day.

I try not to take it out of proportion. If you did a similar search for automobile-related stories I’m sure you would be buried in accident reports. And being more conscious of these fatalities does not make me feel more at risk, as it might some people. If anything, I feel perhaps less at risk because my awareness keeps me vigilant.

Nevertheless, the daily barrage can’t help but make me think. Why are these people dying? What mistakes are they making? What mistakes are other motorists making? How can these deaths be prevented? What can I learn from this?

I’m not the only one asking these questions. A new motorcycle accident study began recently that promises to update and expand on the understanding derived from the Hurt study of 30 years ago.

In a recent issue of American Motorcyclist magazine there were a couple letters from readers arguing that another study was a waste because thanks to the Hurt study we already know the reasons for the crashes. The AMA responded saying “. . . the traffic environment has changed dramatically in the 30 years since the data were collected . . . a new study of U.S. motorcycle crashes can have far-reaching effects on how we teach motorcyclists and drivers, and shed new light on exactly how to reduce the number of crashes.”

But it will be several years before this new study yields its wisdom, so in the meantime we ought to at least make use of what we know already. And that includes these three points:

• Untrained riders have more accidents
• New, inexperienced riders have more accidents
• Riders who have been drinking have more accidents

Now, there’s only one remedy for being a new rider, and that’s to get out there and ride and gain experience. The other two are simple–get some training and don’t mix booze and bikes.

I’m no pollyanna, I know people will have a beer at a stop on the ride. I’ve done that myself. But don’t have four. We all need to remember that “Live to ride, ride to live” presupposes one crucial point: You’ve got to stay alive or you can’t do either.

Biker Quote for Today

Don’t argue with an 18-wheeler.

I attended my first ABATE meeting on Sunday. This would be ABATE of Colorado District 10. I had no real idea what the focus of the meeting might be, or even what it really means to be a member. But I figured it was time to learn.

I’ve always been inclined to activism. Years ago I was a lot more interested in politics than I am today, so I didn’t just vote, I was an active party member. Heck, I was even a precinct committeeman for a while.

Then I became disillusioned with the party and left it.

With motorcycling, my activist bent has developed more slowly but it has been a clear direction. Initially all I wanted to do was ride, either with my friends or by myself. But then an incident occurred that raised the issue of making helmets mandatory again and I felt I had to speak out.

I wrote a letter to the newspaper and it was printed. That prompted a local member of the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) to contact me and send me a membership application. And I joined. I’ve been a member now for 16 years.

Being an AMA member made me a lot more aware of the legal issues arising and being addressed around the country and within my own sphere I became an advocate. You know advocacy is needed when you find that you have to explain to your own parents why insurance practices that discriminate against bikers are wrong.

I took the next step when I built the Passes and Canyons, Motorcycle Touring in Colorado website. For the first time I was moving beyond my own immediate circle, out into the broader world. Shortly after launching the site I added this blog. That provided me an impetus to not only attend events but to meet the people attending and the people putting them on in order to write about them with more authority.

One things leads to another, and through the blog I was contacted to write for Examiner.com as their Denver Motorcycle Examiner. I’ve always been a writer, and I used to be in the newspaper business, so this was like coming home. Being an Examiner opens more doors than just being a blogger and I’ve extended my scope to focus on more and more of the people and organizations that make up the local motorcycle community.

The more I wrote about ABATE’s rider training program, and the group’s efforts in the legislative arena, the more I came to ask myself why I was not a member.

So now I’ve joined. And my first impression is that I’ve only seen the tip of the iceberg. I look forward to seeing more, and to becoming a real part of it.

Biker Quote for Today

If you want to complain about the pace being set by the road captain, you better be prepared to lead the group yourself.

If you pay to have roadside assistance for any of your vehicles you need to know about what the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) is now offering. Free roadside assistance for all your vehicles as a no-extra-charge part of your membership. And membership is only $39 per year.

Compare that to the American Automobile Association (AAA), where a basic membership is $73 per year and that won’t cover your bike. You can go with a premium membership that will cover your bike and that will cost you $177 per year.

How can AMA do this? You only get this benefit if you sign up with a credit card and agree to automatic renewals. They say they spend nearly $1 million on renewal notices each year and they’re looking to save a lot of money there. Plus, you know they have to be expecting a lot more renewals when it’s automatic. It’s just too easy when you get that notice to put it aside and forget about it, and then they’ve lost a member.

So even if you don’t ride it would make sense to join AMA just for the roadside assistance. Why pay more to AAA and get less?

Here’s the list of particulars of the program, straight from the AMA website.

* Coverage for bikes, cars, pickups, motorhomes and trailers registered to you, your spouse, and dependent children under the age of 24, living at home or away at college.
* Coverage in all 50 states, plus Puerto Rico and Canada.
* Towing up to 35 miles.
* All dispatch and hook-up fees.
* Flat tire assistance.
* Mechanical first aid: minor adjustments (excluding parts) to repair the vehicle.
* Emergency fuel delivery.
* Wheel and tire road hazard coverage for the member’s vehicles, including trailers.
* No exclusions for older motorcycles.
* Up to five dispatched service calls per year.
* Towing a disabled motorcycle or other vehicle to a shop or the member’s home.
* Emergency Trip Interruption Service: Up to $100 a day for three days ($300) in reimbursement for meals and lodging if a member’s car or motorcycle is disabled in an accident, and/or while the member’s vehicle is being repaired far from home.
* Toll-free assistance available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, from two national call centers.
* AMA Roadside Assistance pays first. No need to pay and wait for reimbursement.
* Free trip-routing service.
* Free limited legal services.
* Free online rewards mall.

Do I think this is a good deal? I learned about this on Sunday, after mailing my AMA renewal on Saturday. I went online and signed up for another year with a credit card and agreeing to automatic renewal. You bet I think it’s a good deal.

Biker Quote for Today

Classics are great, built to last, but when they don`t wanna run they’re a pain in the ass!

What Mary Peters started, others seek to continue. I’ve given considerable coverage to the proposal by U.S. Sec. of Transportation Mary Peters that funds earmarked for motorcycle rider training be diverted to lobby for mandatory helmet laws.

Pretty much all major motorcycling organizations have opposed that, and I reported in a report from the Meeting of the Minds that Peters has backed off on that proposal. Motorcycle Riders Foundation (MRF) President Kirk “Hardtail” Willard cautioned me that despite her statements in that regard, he was still waiting to see her send the letters to that effect to the states.

Well, now the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) reports in the latest issue of American Motorcyclist that a group called the Governors Highway Safety Association has now taken up the issue. American Motorcyclist says:

Christopher Murphy, chairman of the Governors Highway Safety Association, which represents state highway safety agencies, made the request in testimony to the U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee’s Subcommittee on Highways and Transit this summer.

The opposition to this misuse of funds stems from the conviction that the key to lowering fatality rates is not in having safer crashes, it is in avoiding more of those crashes in the first place. As Doc Ski noted at the Meeting of the Minds, you will die if you get in a bad enough accident, regardless of whether you’re wearing a helmet.

So Mary Peters may have heeded the outcry and reversed her stance, but now that the genie has been let out of the bottle it may not be that easy to put it back in. This is why we need to support organizations like the AMA and the MRF.

Biker Quote for Today

Thin leather looks good in the bar, but it won’t save your butt from road rash if you go down.