Most of us have learned a lot of lessons in motorcycling by doing things that make us say, “Oops, I guess I won’t do that again.” It’s called experience.

Well, the folks who work for the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) have between them an awful lot of experience. And somebody got the idea for them all to collect the tips they have picked up along the way and offer their wisdom to all riders. The result is the Rider Resources page on the AMA website. It’s worth a look.

The page has three sections, Riding, Wrenching, and Learning. Each section offers a variety of articles on different topics. For instance, under Riding they offer “33 Secrets for Smart Touring,” “Tips for Crossing the Border,” and “Keeping Warm.” Under Wrenching the topics include such as “Used-Bike Buying Checklist” and “The Bike Stopped. Now What?” “Books We Love to Read” and “Riding With Disabilities” are two of the topics under Learning.

A lot of the info is sure to be stuff most of us already know, though newbies will find it very helpful. A lot is not such common knowledge. For instance, among the 33 touring tips are some jewels like this: If you’re nearing the end of your riding day and want to set yourself up for a quick getaway in the morning, consider riding to the far side of the next city you reach before you stop for the night, eliminating urban traffic the next morning.

At the same time, I find it amusing that the piece on what to do if the bike stops on you doesn’t mention what is probably one of the biggest reasons for this sort of occurrence: the kill switch. Who among us hasn’t had the experience of the bike either dying or failing to start and after beating our heads against the wall for . . . how long? . . . realizing it was just the kill switch. It happened to me one time when I reached over to engage my throttle lock and inadvertently hit that switch. I was stopped there by the side of the road for 15 minutes before it dawned on me.

That shortcoming aside, however, a whole bunch of riders offering their best advice has to have something of value for just about any rider. Take a look and see what you can learn.

Recent from National Motorcycle Examiner
Custom motorcycles to tour, one to be given away

Biker Quote for Today

You know you’re becoming addicted to riding when you crash your bicycle when you lock up the tire because you were trying to use the brake as a clutch lever.

Senate Bill 89, which would have eliminated Colorado’s Motorcycle Operator Safety Training (MOST) program, died in committee Tuesday. But the senators who wish to give reform efforts a chance to succeed made it clear they will vote differently in the future if the program is not fixed.

The idea that the program has problems was not contested by anyone. The only discussion was on whether to kill the program outright or first let those involved with MOST do what they can to fix it. On a party line vote, the majority Democrats on the committee voted for the latter while the minority Republicans voted to kill the program.

In arguing for killing MOST, Sen. Scott Renfroe, the bill’s sponsor, challenged the need for such a program and said it was an area in which the government need not get involved. Sen. Renfroe made it clear he supports rider training, pointing out that he himself rides motorcycles, but that he feels the program has outlived its usefulness.

Opponents of the bill expressed concerns that killing MOST could result in the loss of an annual $100,000 grant for motorcycle safety efforts from the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration. They also said that in talks with the Colorado Department of Revenue (DoR), DoR had made it clear that if MOST was killed, the department would no longer accept Beginning Rider Course certification in lieu of the department’s own testing of riders seeking to get licensed. Sen. Renfroe said he questioned whether DoR would in fact do that.

If DoR did do that, opponents pointed out, it would mean that the expense of testing, which is currently borne by the riders taking the courses, would fall on DoR, driving up government expenses.

Sen. Renfroe pointed to results of a survey conducted among riders who had taken the courses, saying that the riders themselves stated overwhelmingly that an increase in the price of the class would not have deterred them from taking them. Speaking for the Colorado Department of Transportation, which supported allowing time for the program to be fixed, Herman Stockinger pointed out that in fact, the survey showed that nearly 50 percent had said a $70 increase would indeed have caused them to reconsider. Seventy dollars per student is the amount that rider training is subsidized through MOST.

“That’s perhaps 4,000 plus people (per year) who wouldn’t have taken the training,” said Stockinger.

So MOST has a reprieve but it is not out of the woods. It is now up to those involved with MOST to put into effect the recommendations of a legislative audit report. And if those recommendations are not enacted, the next time this issue comes up the outcome could be very different.

Recent from National Motorcycle Examiner
Colorado motorcycle training program gets reprieve

Biker Quote for Today

It’s our job. Burnin’ gasoline, killin’ bugs, and wearing out tires! — StevenE Fristoe

As mentioned previously, a bill has been introduced that would eliminate the state’s Motorcycle Operator Safety Training (MOST). There will be a hearing on that bill at 2 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 21, in Room SCR 352 at the state capitol. ABATE of Colorado is urging all who can to attend and lend support for the continuation of the MOST program.

MOST is a program that was created at the request of motorcyclists to help defray training costs so that more riders will have better riding skills. The program is funded through a $4 per year additional fee on motorcycle license renewals and an additional $2 every time someone with a motorcycle accreditation on their driver’s license renews that license.

Aside from eliminating the program, SB12-089 makes no provision for what is to be done with the money already paid into the program should MOST be eliminated, which would presumably mean that money would simply stay in the state’s general fund.

The bill to eliminate MOST is sponsored by Sens. Renfroe, Cadman, Grantham, Harvey, Lambert, Lundberg, Mitchell, Neville, Roberts, Scheffel, and Spence, and in the House, by Reps. Holbert and Sonnenberg.

Anyone planning to attend the hearing should check first to ensure that it has not been rescheduled. The bill was originally scheduled for hearing on Feb. 14, but was postponed. If it is postponed there should be a notice to that effect on the ABATE site.

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Struggle in Congress to continue Recreational Trails Program

Biker Quote for Today

The world is a book, those who don’t travel, read but a single page.

We all know those signs over the highways that alert you to problems, scheduled closures, and such. And during May, which is designated Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month, those signs typically carry the message for drivers to be aware and watch out for motorcycles on the road with them.

This past May, my wife Judy asked the question, “Why do they only have that message during May? Why don’t they put that up there all year?”

I can now answer that question, and it’s actually a good answer.

Last week I attended a meeting at the Colorado Department of Transportation and one of the people there was Heather Halpape, who works in public relations with CDOT. At one point in the meeting she spoke about messages on those signs so afterward I asked her Judy’s question. Here’s what she said.

First, they do put up that message more often than just in May. They also put it up in August during the time around the Sturgis rally because there are a lot of bikes moving through the state to or from Sturgis. She said there is one other time when they use it as well, though she couldn’t remember off hand when that is.

Second, although the message is an attempt to promote safe driving, it can actually create less-safe conditions. Those signs don’t always have messages on them, but when they do, people make a point to read them. This can lead slowdowns and congestion. We saw that just this past weekend as we were coming down I-25 past the Yale exit. The sign there was alerting people to a closure at Belleview, and we hit congestion approaching that sign. After the sign, traffic sped up and the congestion cleared.

Third, people have been trained that messages are only put on the signs if the matter is important. So they make a point to read them. If there was always a message of some kind, that would just become routine and people would start to ignore the signs. And of course, that would defeat the purpose.

So there you go. Judy had a good question but Heather had a good answer that shows the people working for the state have given real thought to the matter. Kudos to CDOT.

Recent from National Motorcycle Examiner
NHTSA measure advances without helmet mandate

Biker Quote for Today

Don’t let my motorcycle ride interfere with the safety of your phone call.

Are you aware that when you renew your plates on your motorcycle(s) each year in Colorado you pay $4 that goes into a fund to help defray the cost of rider training courses? Also, anyone renewing their driver’s license with motorcycle accreditation pays an extra $2 that goes to the same fund.

This is all set in place because some years ago the motorcycling community asked for it. The general idea is that it is a good thing for everybody to have the folks riding motorcycles actually get some training so they can do it competently. The accompanying concept was that such a program could help to forestall proposals that Colorado institute a mandatory helmet law. That is to say, education and better riding skills do more to prevent traffic fatalities than wearing helmets. Or, to put it differently, crash prevention is better than having safer crashes.

Regardless of how you might feel about helmet laws, I don’t see how anyone can argue that it is not better to avoid crashing than to crash and not get hurt so badly.

The vehicle for this funneling of fees to rider training is Colorado’s Motorcycle Operator Safety Training program or MOST. MOST is now under attack, in some cases from organizations that originally supported its creation.

I could go on at great length with the history and background of what is currently going on, as ABATE of Colorado’s State Coordinator Terry Howard did with me, but I’ll give you the short version.

ABATE, Riders for Justice, some of the motorcycle clubs, dealerships, and others pushed for the training approach. Over the years the program was not given sufficient oversight and some problems developed. The Colorado Legislature this past year conducted an audit of the program and identified a number of issues. Several of those issues were immediately addressed and rectified and the rest will soon have been fixed.

In the meantime, however, new people have replaced the old, and in organizations such as the Colorado Confederation of Clubs (COC) which came into existence later, there is no understanding of the history of and reasons for the fees. Some of the previous supporters are now saying, “Why should we have to pay to reduce the cost for other people to learn to ride?”

In a twist that gives fits to Terry Howard, a Republican, the legislative audit committee was divided on party lines–with the Republicans being the ones she finds herself in opposition to. In the current anti-tax atmosphere, the Republicans on the committee are in favor of eliminating MOST and letting us keep our $4 and $2 fees. It is the Democrats who are saying, “The motorcyclists asked for this program, and for these fees to be levied on them, so let’s keep the fees and keep the program they fund.”

One other thing to keep in mind: If MOST is killed there is no certainty that the fees will be eliminated. We could end up paying the fees without getting the benefit.

The committee deadlocked in this past session, but it seems likely that Republican Rep. Marsha Looper, of Colorado Springs, will introduce legislation in the next session to kill MOST. This would be a good topic for all Colorado motorcyclists to learn more about, and then do what you can to educate your legislators, whether you support MOST or oppose it. Most of them don’t know anything at all about it.

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NHTSA proposes additional naturalistic motorcycle safety study

Biker Quote for Today

Statistics show that most solo motorcycle accidents are caused by a defective nut holding the handlebars.

What’s the strangest thing you’ve ever run into on the road on your bike? By now several thousand Adventure Riders members have weighed in with their stories. It’s time to pass along a few more.
***************
I was on my normal commute on one of the coldest days of the year last winter.(17degrees on my home thermometer) The air was dry and my KLR seemed to be running extra good that morning. As I was rounding one of my favorite peg dragging corners the front pussed out then I totally lost the rear.I managed to save it after doing some weeding on the shoulder. I turned around to see what upset me and to my suprise (discust) I discovered that someone had puked in the middle of the road and it had frozen solid. Leaving a 3-4 foot round sheet of ice.
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An airborne 12′ aluminium dinghy with roof racks attached. I almost hit it! I was following the offending vehicle, just about to turn of the Kwinana Fwy heading north onto Canning Hwy. Just crossed the Mt Henry bridge and I thought….that dinghy is loose, that dinghy is flying, that dinghy is going to hit me in the face……..it did a loop the loop and landed in the lane next to me, upside down sliding along on the roof racks…..cars going everywhere…it was peak hour!! Moral of this story…..never follow closely behind boats when on bikes. If I had been two car lengths closer or a little faster….bammm.
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I broadsided a police car at about 40 mph that turned left in front of me while I was splitting lanes.
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A car raced past me and I thought ‘That bozo put the skis on the rack backwards!’ Tips forward and up!! There were 3 or 4 pairs and the whole set up was shaking like crazy… moments later the skis achieved enough lift to tear the racks off the car and everything went airborne. Fortunately for me, I managed to avoid everything, but it was quite a light show when they hit the highway at 120 km/h or so.
***************
When I was in college, late ’80s, I rode a ’78 RD400. I was heading home on the interstate. I liked to draft behind semis or big trucks. I was tucked in behind a loaded horse trailer at about 75 mph. All of a sudden up goes the horse tail and he proceeded to crap right in front of me.
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One second, I’m cruising down the road, not a care in the world, and the next, I’m laying flat of my back looking up and wondering what the hell just happened. According to the guy behind me, this big-assed buzzard came swooping down out of the sky headed toward some chunk of road-kill and buzzard and I intersected.
***************
While backroading up in Oregon, I came around a particularly fast, tight corner and narrowly missed a REFRIGERATOR sitting in the middle of the road. About 4-5 turns later, I passed a guy standing next to an empty flatbed pickup truck. He was inspecting his broken load straps with a very confused look on his face.
***************
Fellow I know and was rooming with – riding a long distance motorcycle rally: Riding down the super slab at night, he was dangling his feet from his ST1100, to relieve leg cramps. Suddenly, WHAM, his foot is hit by something on the pavement. Stopping to evaluate, he notices porcupine quills spiked in to his riding boots. I only heard the story from him, but I saw the quills permanently installed in to his boots. Imagine a squid doing that with flip flops!
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A boulder rolling down a hill on highway 20 going towards Truckee. It was traveling in a straight line right in the middle of the lane, going about 20mph. It was huge, I was afraid to pass it in case it took a weird wobble and crushed me. I followed it for at least a quarter mile before it went off the side.
***************
Almost hit = large Hog that jumped out of the back of the truck in front of me.

All right. Just a reminder to be careful out there.

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Biker Quote for Today

ATGATT: “Because the only crumple zones on a motorcycle are YOU.”

This guest post has been provided by Pedro Barnes, who is an automobile insurance analyst and writer for the insurance comparison website CheapInsuranceHQ.com. I hope you’ll find it useful and perhaps thought-provoking.

Motorcycle Safety Tips

There’s nothing like the feel of riding your bike on a beautiful, sunny day. Staying safe on the bike is really up to you. Here are some tips to help you stay safe when you’re out on the bike.

Bike Maintenance

Give your bike a quick check once in a while to ensure that everything is working. Check the lights, brake lights, turn signals and oil on a regular basis. Look at cables to be sure they aren’t frayed or worn and lube the train.

Gear

Quality gear can make the difference in an accident. The helmet should fit well and snugly. It should have the DOT label to show that it meets federal standards. Quality leather pants and a jacket not only look sharp, they also help protect you from road debris. Black is the natural choice, but a brighter color will make you more visible to other drivers. Gloves should be non-slip and the shoes you put on should cover the ankles.

Respect

Motorcycles are naturally harder to see. Engaging in risky behavior like riding on the shoulder or weaving through traffic will increase your chances of being in an accident. It’s also important to obey the speed limit when riding and, of course, never drink alcohol or take drugs before hitting the open road.

Assumptions

Normally, you want to avoid making any assumptions. But when you’re on a bike, there are some that make sense. Assume that there is a car in the lane you want to merge into and check on its location. Further, assume that the driver in that car has not noticed you and proceed with caution.

Take a Rider Safety Class

There are classes available to help make you a safer rider. Consider signing up for one of these affordable classes so you can spend more time enjoying the road and less time dealing with accidents. Plus, several insurance companies offer a discount on insurance premiums if you take a safety course. Allstate Insurance, for example, will reward you with a five percent discount on insurance premiums if you take a motorcycle safety class. Nationwide is another insurance company that will insure your bike and give you a five percent discount for taking a safety course.

Remember that Drivers are Blind

It’s not a conscious choice, but it is a fact that far too many drivers just don’t notice motorcycles. Motorcycle awareness, or the lack thereof, is often cited by the National Highway Traffic Safety Association a leading factor in motorcycle accidents. Make yourself more visible by using your turn signals when possible. Take the time to check your mirror before braking so you can not only watch the object in front of you, but also the car behind you to be sure it is slowing down.

Smooth Riding

Easy accelerations, gentle braking using both brakes, proper gear choice and smooth steering will help you stay safe. Your bike will hold traction on the road better and you will be less likely to land in a ditch.

Slow Down when Necessary

If visibility is poor or the car ahead of you is slowing down, you need to slow down, also. Keep the speed in line with what you can see and leave a distance between you and the car ahead of you.

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Royal Enfield making inroads in US

Biker Quote for Today

Gear: Because walking away in disgust beats riding away in an ambulance.

I just want to pass along this information I saw in this month’s issue of ABATE of Colorado‘s Spokesman publication. It’s something they got from the Motorcycle Riders Foundation, and has to do with the statistics that so often are used to justify “fixes” for problems. Here’s what the MRF put out.

Possible Errors? When errors, omissions or inaccuracies are discovered in reports or statistics, it calls into question the integrity of results. Additionally, small numbers can be easily skewed by slight or seemingly insignificant variations. Furthermore, numbers may be exploited if uncharacteristic highs or lows are used as a baseline. None of these discoveries are intended to argue against helmet use, but rather to demonstrate that suggesting a helmet law is not the solution to motorcycle safety. Individual states need to maintain the ability to determine what measures best address the needs and desires of their residents as suggested in the National Agenda for Motorcycle Safety (NAMS).

FACT Comparison of studies is complicated due to varying criteria, wherein one report references riders, it is unclear if that includes passengers or specifically operators. Other papers may refer to the numbers of persons, crashes or vehicles intermittently. This can be quite confusing as the numbers are usually very close and are frequently compared in error.

FACT A Minnesota motorcyclist survived a crash only to be struck by a car while standing on the road attempting to flag down a motorist for assistance. This was subsequently counted as a motorcycle fatality.

FACT A Pennsylvania taxi driver, with multiple suspensions,was responsible for about two percent of the state’s total motorcycle fatalities when he caused a crash with three motorcycles and killed five helmeted riders in a single incident.

FACT Motorcycle fatalities dropped by 10% in 2009 and preliminary reports indicate that 2010 numbers will be further reduced by at least 2%. The Motorcycle Industry Council advises that sales of replacement tires were up by 6.1% in 2010, suggesting an increase in motorcycle usage. A decrease in fatalities despite an increase in exposure would suggest that motorcycle safety and awareness programs, specifically rider education courses, have been successful.

FACT The National Transportation Safety Board has investigated over 120,000 airplane incidents, over 60,000 surface transportation incidents, and just 6 individual motorcycle incidents in their entire 44 year history — Apparently enough investigation to warrant adding mandatory helmet laws for motorcyclists on their “top ten most wanted list.”

FACT According to preliminary data from the Governors Highway Safety Association, states that have a mandatory adult helmet law had 6 fewer fatalities in 2010 than in 2009, while free choice states saw a reduction of 74. The state with the single largest decline in fatalities (Texas -60) is a choice state and a state which requires helmets on all riders tied for the greatest increase (New York +24).

FACT FARS (Fatality Analysis Reporting System) continues to include “mopeds” in motorcycle crash statistics despite the fact that most states do not require registration of these vehicles. This practice skews the most respected method of measuring the effectiveness of motorcycle safety programs, which is the ratio of accidents, injuries and fatalities per 10,000 registrations.

For more information, contact Jeff Hennie, Motorcycle Riders Foundation, 202-546-0983, jeff@mrf.org

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Creating a comfortable, high-mileage motorcycle that carries groceries

Biker Quote for Today

She pulled out into his path. Classical modus deathus for a biker.

There were many times in the last four days when I wished I had failed the riding test portion of the RiderCoach training. I did pass, but the question of actually coaching classes of new riders is something else entirely.

I can’t remember anything I’ve ever done that was harder, or more of a yo-yo. Every time I’d start to get confident that I was going to do well I would make some major mistake and be informed of that fact in no uncertain terms. At the end of my last coaching exercise on the range (we also did classroom sections) my instructor told me I had technically passed but, if my reading between the lines is correct, that I should not expect him to be asking me to work for him any time soon.

There are other issues as well. If I were to work as a RiderCoach I would be expected to perform the riding demonstrations flawlessly. I can’t do that now. I can fine-tune my skills on my own bikes as practice, but the one exercise I have the most trouble with is something I am extremely reluctant to try on my own bikes. That’s the small box wherein students are expected to do two U-turns. I can do it successfully some times, and the more opportunity for practice I had the better I got. Ben, our head instructor, says it can be done on bigger bikes, and I know it can, but dropping my 800-pound Kawasaki Concours is a lot different from dropping one of those little 250cc Honda Nighthawks. You can stop a 250 Nighthawk from going over by putting your foot down. Once that Connie starts to fall there is no stopping it, and when it falls it breaks expensive parts. Unless I can come up with a smaller bike to get more practice with I just don’t see how I can develop the skill I need.

I would still like to coach. We started with a class of 12 students and 7 of them ended up completing the Beginning Rider Course (BRC) successfully. A couple only failed to pass because they barely did too poorly on the written test. They can come back for a remedial session and take the test again and still pass. Some of the rest of them were amazing. There was one woman in particular who we all thought was so fearful and so intimidated that she was not likely to make it. She ended up scoring the best score in the class on the riding test. We marveled all weekend amongst ourselves at her incredible strides in learning to ride. It was a real inspiration.

When the students were taking their riding test there was one thing that made me feel I had contributed something good. As part of our Rider Coach training we were required to pass the BRC with a better score than what students need. I failed the first time because I was not sure of the path of travel on the third part. Well, imagine how pleased I was when, not for the first two parts but for that third part, Ben took the students and walked them through the course to make sure they knew exactly what was expected of them. Like he had listened to what I had said and took it to heart.

So the course is over and I will get my MSF certification. I don’t feel like I accomplished something special. I feel exhausted and immensely relieved that it’s over, no matter what the outcome. I don’t know if I’ll ever actually become a riding instructor. You’ll read about it here if I do. And by the way, if you want to get a real taste of what went on, and why it was hard for me and on me, check the Examiner story I did, linked below.

Recent from National Motorcycle Examiner
The hurdles to actually becoming a RiderCoach

Biker Quote for Today

Wrecking is bad. Your competition using your stones as traction is worse.

Half-way through this eight-day course, I’m keeping my fingers crossed hoping I pass. This is not easy!

I signed up (and paid my money–$450) to take RiderCoach training. RiderCoaches, in case you don’t know, are those instructors who train others to ride motorcycles. I figure that training others to ride is a good thing to do, it should help me become a better rider myself, and it will afford me another modest source of income.

What I never imagined was that I would pay my money and take the course and then possibly end up not getting my certification.

During the first day they explained to us that part of passing the course requires passing the riding test that students in the Basic Rider Course must pass, except that we are required to do so with a better score than is required of them. That makes sense. If we’re the supposed experts and can’t do a better job than rank novices what the hell are we doing teaching?

Well, that first day in class was so challenging that I was thinking with more than a little bit of longing that maybe I’d fail the riding test and that would put me out of my misery. I didn’t really want to fail. That would be extremely humiliating to not be able to pass the BRC test. But there was still some appeal.

Then the second day I did fail the riding test. Not because I couldn’t do it, but because on one of the exercises I stopped midway across the course because it was not at all clear to me what I was supposed to do. I’m a visual learner, and every time they read the instructions I sort of understood but figured I’d watch the demonstration and then I would understand. Well, on this particular exercise we were downhill a bit (the range slopes) and the part of the course in question was just over the crest of the slope, where I couldn’t see where the riders who tested ahead of me were going. So I took off on my ride figuring it would become clear but when I got there it was not clear at all. I was assessed 15 points for not completing that exercise, and to pass we were allowed no more than 12.

Come Day 4 when it was time for those of us who failed the first time to try again–our last chance, no more retakes–I insisted on walking the course with one of the instructors, asking questions every step of the way. I demanded that I had to know exactly what was expected of me. Then I got on the bike and rode the exercise well and passed the test. All three of us passed.

That entitled me to four more days of what they promised us will be even tougher demands. By this time next week I’ll either be certified or I will have failed the course. Either way, I’m going to be extremely, extremely relieved.

Recent from National Motorcycle Examiner
More weird stuff in the biker’s path

Biker Quote for Today

Scars are a way to prove to us that the past was real.