2Wheeltips

In his 2008 book Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell recounts the story of (South) Korean Air Flight 801 which tragically crashed due to multitude of factors.
What is even more unfortunate is that this could have been a story of many Korean Air flights during this time (1980s) which also resulted in a tragic demise. The problem was so great that Korean Air was about to lose it’s federally granted flight license and came very close to going out of business entirely.

What I found fascinating is how similar flying and riding is in terms of accident-probability. The author suggests that accident-probability is related not to a single factor – say bad weather for example - instead it’s

I was reading an article from the October 2009 issue of GQ magazine titled "Easy Riding - A GQ Motorcycle Primer".

There is a very interesting quote by one of the MSF coaches who contributed to the article. I've included part of it below:

"Once you pass (the BRC), you can ride on any road in America. "But practically speaking, you are qualified to ride in an enclosed lot with two instructors watching."

One of our members said that his BRC instructor told him:

"Congratulations, you are now qualified to ride a 125cc motorcycle around cones in a closed parking lot"
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As bad as they sound, the above quotes reflect reality.  Passing the BRC does not make you an instant skilled motorcyclist. You are now a person who has spent a few hours practicing the most basic motorcycle skills on a bike you cannot even purchase at a dealer.

I am not putting down or critizing the BRC or other basic training classes because they are important. Most motorcycle accidents involve people with no training. But once you get your license, you need lots of practice to become a skilled and safe motorcyclist. The BRC is the foundation on which you build your good skills.

It matters what and where you practice. Riding around in parking lots will help your slow maneuver skills and as a new rider you should go to parking lots and practice as often as you can. But you also need to practice road skills such as merging into traffic, switching lanes, target fixation, going around curves, wet weather riding, braking and acceleration. To become a skilled rider you should practice all of these things.

Think of the BRC as an excellent beginning rather than the finish line. You spend a few years, many hours and quite a few miles on your bike before you become a skilled rider.

Last week I dropped my bike while turning onto the street in front of my place. It wasn't anything major but it was definitely a shock. I've been riding since 2005, have 3 bikes and the worst that has happened was a tipover when the bike was warming up in the driveway.

So what happened? Well I decided to take out my Yamaha FJR 1300 sport tourer which I hadn't been on in over a month. I did my regular pre-ride inspection including checking the tire pressure. Afterwards, I rode up to the main street and prepared to make a left turn. After checking traffic, I eased into the friction zone, rolled on the gas and halfway through the turn the rear wheel kicked out and down I went. The bike slid 6 feet and I was fortunate that I was able to get off and didn't get hurt. I ran over to pick up the bike. No major damage....just a few scrapes on the hard bag and no damage to the clutch.

I've made that turn too many times to count and couldn't help but wonder what happened? Did I hit the gas too hard? Were the tires cold? Since I hadn't been on the bike in a while, did I forget how powerful the bike is? After getting the bike up and moving it to the side of the road, I decided to check the tires again to see if I missed anything. Sure enough there was some oily residue on the tires! I did have oil on my garage floor and some of it must have gotten on the tires. The combination of oil and cold tires was enough to cause the rear wheel to slide out.

I waited a few minutes, started the bike and was able to ride 100 miles that day. I was initally reluctant to lean the bike hard through curves but after the tires warmed up I could feel them gripping the road. Near the end of the ride, I was going around my favorite curves with confidence.

Next time I will make sure to double check my tires for any oil or grease and take it extra slow until my tires warm up.

...so there I was. Airborne. Flying upside-down and looking back at the bike I was sitting on only a fraction of a second earlier. The bike had made a dead stop.

When a motorcycle meets a cement guardrail at 60mph, who wins?

Some quick information on video playback.


We are currently working to eliminate the choppy playback that some members experience when viewing our videos on slower connections. Right now, our videos are set to work when the connection speed is 900 KB/s or faster.....which basically means a cable modem, a high speed DSL line or greater. If you do not have those speeds then the video playback is choppy and it will pause periodically to download more data.

What we are doing now is adding a options to allow playback at 300 KB/s which will allow playback on a mid-tier broadband connection. The downside is there will be a reduction in the quality of the video. We should have this feature up and running within the next day or so.

Much thanks to our new member Harry for helping out with this issue.

The 2wheeltips team

We periodically hear from members that have problems with video playback along with tabs, boxes and other content that are not aligned properly. We did some investigating and decided to put together this technical list of minimum requirements needed by our site:

Computer/Operating System
Windows XP Service Pack 2 or higher
Mac OS X Tiger or higher
Flash 8 or higher
756 Meg of memory
1 Gig Processor or higher

Browser
Internet Explorer 7 or higher (will not work on IE 6 due to CSS incompatibility)
Firefox (any version)
Safari (any version)

Internet Connection Speed
300 KB/s broadband connection or higher
900 KB/s give optimal video quality playback
below 300 KB/s will give choppy video playback

Basically, if your computer was purchased in the last 4 years and you have upgraded your browser and plug-ins, you should be fine. If you run our videos on a 300KB/s broadband connection, you will not get optimal video quality. Better than other sites like youtube and myspace but not the best that can be displayed. If you want to check your connection speed, you can use this site:

http://www.dslreports.com

The 2wheeltips team
 

By: Dr. Melissa E. Heche, AuD
Doctor of Audiology

Once armed with the knowledge regarding the potential hearing damage to motorcycle usage, motorcyclists are typically very motivated to actively protect their hearing while riding.  The ultimate realization that custom earplugs offer the best protection precipitates most riders to be proactive about getting a pair.  When the opportunity is presented to the rider – such as at a motorcycle show – it would appear to be an easy way to ensure a safer ride.  Obtain hearing protection, without the hassle of going to a doctor’s office.  Perfect solution, right?  Not so fast…you should know all the facts.

From my experience at the motorcycle shows, there are several vendors who are present and have booths where they offer to take ear mold impressions immediately and generate a hearing protection plug right there for you.  It is a great way to increase awareness and ensure that motorcyclists who would not typically be wearing protection while riding have begun the process of protecting their hearing.  I have been asked numerous times if this process is an adequate means of protecting hearing, and there are a number of different variables to consider when trying to ascertain whether this is a satisfactory method.

The short answer is that it is certainly far better than not wearing any hearing protection at all.  In fact, the vendors at these conferences take an ear mold impression – much like is done in an audiologist’s office – and generate an earplug that is presumably adequately sealed in the ear.  With that, the motorcycle rider is being protected by using the plugs that took merely minutes to construct and cost just a few dollars.  But how much hearing protection is the rider actually getting, and is this there a better method? 

Obtaining ear mold impressions for the purposes of fitting molds is both an art and a science.  First, there is a risk involved.  Should the silicone based impression material accidentally come too close to the eardrum, its removal might become a small but not unimportant medical procedure.  In addition, if there are otologic conditions in the person’s ear (such as a perforated eardrum) then special care must be taken with the material when it is placed into the canal.  The vendors at the shows may know this information and take appropriate precautions – but they may not.  Further, if there is a condition such as Eustachian Tube dysfunction or a retracted eardrum, then insertion and removal of the material into the canal needs to be done with care or the material will get stuck and severe discomfort will occur.  The fact is that none of the vendors will know if any of these conditions exist in the client sitting in their chair at the show – because testing for these conditions can only be done by an audiologist.  These are facts that you must be aware of when considering obtaining your hearing protection plugs through them.  The vendor may be quite experienced and may be well skilled at taking earmold impressions – please do not misunderstand my words as a statement that none of the vendors are capable.  I do not know any of them well enough to make an assertion in either direction; however, I do know that ear anatomy and physiology plays a large role in the successful ear mold impression.  Without the necessary education, the practitioner is unnecessarily risking the client.

Another variable to consider is the type of material that is utilized.  Typically, the Westone hearing protection plugs are comprised of a soft silicone that adheres to the canal and forms a complete hermetic seal.  I have no direct knowledge of the materials that are used by the vendors, but it would be important to have an understanding of this.  I am certain that each vendor is different and may offer different information about the materials utilized.  What I can report is that I have seen several pairs of plugs that were formulated onsite at a motorcycle show, and I did not feel that the material was dense or sturdy enough to offer the NRR that was claimed.  Therefore, I have to emphasize the importance of the research and development of the company that generates the hearing protection plugs.  The bigger laboratories work towards the constant development of materials and earmold structures that are best suited for the purpose.  These companies have the research to substantiate their claims.  Can all of the vendors say the same thing? 

Finally, there is a very important component to the hearing protection process that is missing at every vendor stand.  The process of hearing protection is more than just being fit with an earplug and wearing it under your helmet.  The process of hearing protection is very much rooted in audiology.  It involves a complete evaluation to ascertain baseline audiological levels and to depict the rider’s audiological profile.  Assessing anatomy and physiology to rule out any conditions that might present a complication to ear mold impressions is an important part of the procedure.  Finally, the hearing protection process should not end with the fitting of hearing protection earplugs.  Rather, ongoing assessment, follow-ups and checks are necessary to monitor function and ensure ongoing healthy hearing; this process can therefore not be complete without the advisement of a Doctor of Audiology.

When you choose to wear hearing protection plugs while riding a motorcycle, you are choosing to take an active role in maintaining your hearing health.  Make certain that the path you are traveling on does not offer a short-cut.  Maximize the hearing protection process to ensure that your overall hearing health will not be compromised.

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Dr. Heche is a Doctor of Audiology and Clinical Voice and Swallowing Pathologist. She is dually certified by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association and licensed in NYS in Audiology and Speech Pathology. In addition, she is a Fellow of the American Academy of Audiology and is Board Certified in Audiology. Dr. Heche is also a NYS licensed Hearing Aid Dispenser.

Dr. Heche runs the NYC-based private practice New York Speech & Hearing and can be reached at:

http://www.2wheeltips.com/members/profile/640

mheche@newyorkspeechandhearing.com
www.newyorkspeechandhearing.com
Office: (212) 260-1414

 

Hi all -
I have had my Yamaha V-Star 650 Custom for about a month now (passed the MSF course 2 months ago), and have started riding it on come of the busy suburban streets in my neighborhood. I took a ride yesterday for 19 miles round-trip into a more urban area for a business meeting/lunch and did pretty well! I only stalled out twice (once from dead stop, once from not downshifting enough at a slow-down) and that was pretty good for me! The friction zone in the yamaha is miniscule, so it's been a learning curve. :)

I want to ride it every day!

Taken From Ride Like a Pro DVD Vol. 5 - A MUST HAVE


Embeded video not working; will be fixed soon. In the meantime watch the video directly on youtube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BeLkrPkjimo

When going on an overnight motorcycle trip you will need a motorcycle cover. Not only do they protect your bike from the elements, but they keep prying eyes and hands away from your expensive accessories. No one pays much attention to someone admiring your uncovered bike. But someone approaching a covered bike draws suspicion.

For trips, you should get a lightweight cover. They usually come with a pouch and can be stuffed in a saddle bag or luggage with ease. Thick covers are good for winter storage or if you keep you bike outside. They all will protect your bike from dust, dirt, pollen and rain.The main criteria is that the cover fits your bike.

Covers vary in price so shop around. You don't need to spend much to get a good cover.