2Wheeltips

By Dino Dogan
Now accepting friends on Facebook :-)

Here are some disturbing statistics.

People killed in motorcycle accidents for the years
2005=4,553
2006=4,810
2007=5,174
2008=5,290
How come the numbers are going up?

People injured in motorcycle accidents for the years
2005=87,000
2006=88,000
2007=103,000
2008=96,000
What happened in 2007 to cause the spike in injuries? 

Lets brainstorm and come up with ideas to lower these numbers in 2010.

What can we do about this?
How low do you think we can get these numbers?

 

By Dino Dogan
Now accepting friends on Facebook :-)

Women riders face several unique issues when it comes to motorcycle riding. Arguably, the biggest issue is the motorcycle itself.

The bike has to be correctly adjusted for your body size. This. of course, is not unique to women; when I purchased my bike, the seller was 6'2" and I am 6' even, so I had to make adjustments to the handlebars, the front brake and clutch levers, mirrors, etc. The mere two inch difference

Hello all, I'm a thirty-something "chick"
who got into
 motorcycling the way quite a few of us do these
days: higher
 gas prices and overall financial belt-tightening.
The fun factor
 has been a wonderful side benefit!
My husband and I talked about 
how riding a motorcycle would save us money, and decided to take 
an MSF course and then start looking at either motorcycles or
 scooters (at the time, I was leaning heavily
toward the Piaggio 
MP3 500). Neither my husband nor I had ever
owned, or ridden a
 motorcycle, although I had been a passenger a
few times growing
 up, and with a boyfriend or two. We both passed
the course,
 although with a few curses at the figure-8 maneuver,
and then, 
thoroughly bitten by the 2-wheeled bug, we set out to
test ride 
some motorcycles and scooters. I (hubby declined to
test-ride as 
he didn't own any protective gear yet) test rode a
Honda Shadow
 750, Suzuki Boulevard S40, Piaggio BV Tourer 500,
Piaggio MP3 500 and the Yamaha V-Star 650. The Boulevard S40 was a
very light
 bike, similar to the Honda Rebels we learned on in the
MSF 
course, so I was comfortable with that bike. I also learned
from 
the Honda dealer (who was also an MSF instructor) a valuable
tip
 for stopping: pull in your clutch first to disengage the
engine 
and then apply your brakes! Every stop I've made since
then has
 been so much smoother! I was extremely nervous to try
the larger
 Honda 750, but when I got it going, I realized that
the
 maneuvering was just the same, even on a heavier bike, so
once
 that fear passed, I had a blast running it around the
parking
 lot!
Next stop was the scooter dealership where they let
me take
 out the scooters on an extended test-ride IN TRAFFIC.
Remember -
this is the very first time I've played in traffic,
and not only 
were these scooters not mine, they were NEW. I tried
the BV 500 
first, and had lots of fun with the twist-n-go, then I
hopped on
the MP3 500. I had been interested in these ever since
I first 
saw one on the street, and boy did they live up to the
hype! The 
ease of a scooter with the lean of a motorcycle around
the 
corners. I got both these scooters up to about 30 mph, but
it
 felt like I was going 50 mph with the wind on my
full-face
 helmet, and yes, even a bug or two. After the
exhilarating rides, 
it was time to look at the price tags, and
these, being new bikes,
were well beyond my budget, especially
adding on the accessories 
that I wanted. I had known that I
wanted a used bike as my first,
 especially for the lay-down
factor, but these prices just
 verified that.
Next was the Yamaha, a 2007 with low miles. I had
 some trouble getting it going on the incline of the parking lot 
at the dealership, but once I got it
moving it was a blast -
 turned on a dime, a very maneuverable
bike! It was also a nicely
 visible cherry red, which matched my
bright red helmet, and had a
 bunch of accessories already added
on. Can you tell I was in 
love?
Every single one of these bikes was a blast to ride,
 especially the Piaggio MP3! But, economics won out and the
 Yamaha, with its included windshield, custom seat and saddle
bags, was my choice. (check out a photo of my bike on my profile
 page) This was all the way back in late September, and now I've
 ridden in some different conditions, and played some more in traffic, which 
I will write about in further installments of my adventures...
Stay Tuned!

By Dino Dogan

For those of us prone to introspection, I'll bet the answers will go beyond the usual…

“Oh, I love the sense of freedom” or
“It’s the wind in the hair” or
“I like the fact that I can’t be reached on the phone” (my personal favorite), or
“It’s the rebel in me” and on and on…

I decided to dig a little deeper and this is what I found. Tell me if you agree.

A famous psychologist (as far as psychologists go, anyway), Abraham Maslow, proposed that we (humans) have various levels of needs.
This is also known as Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs as published in his 1943 paper A Theory of Human Motivation.

The story goes like this.

By Dino Dogan

First time I rode a motorcycle I knew 3 things. Don’t eat the yellow snow, don’t piss against the wind and don’t up-chuck while wearing a full-faced helmet . Only one of these pertained to motorcycling.

My high school girlfriend got a brand new motorcycle for her birthday. I am pretty sure I’ve spent more time on that thing –the bike, not the girl- than she did. I believe it was an Italian-made step-up from a scooter that was good on the gas and soft on the ass.

I was unconscious-incompetent when it came to riding a motorcycle. In other words, I had no idea what I didn’t know and how much there was to know; but I managed to get around town and even survived to tell about it. Later, I rode on my friend’s 150cc Suzuki and 400cc Honda. Yup, schooldays were fun but then it came time to focus on career and leave this motorcycling nonsense behind. Yeah right.

In my twenties, I kept going back to the idea of actually getting my own bike for once; my procrastinating nature and the high entry cost kept derailing me but I didn’t give up. However, I had to wait a good 10 years before I would actually sit on my own bike...but I’m jumping ahead.

The “high entry cost” is something that many new riders don’t consider. You might put aside a few grand for the bike, but there are a slew of other

In Part 1 of the Motorcycle Accidents guide (must be read with a dose of sarcasm for full effect :-p ) we’ve examined things we can do to make sure we get into an accident. In this article, I will share a few pointers regarding the best way to “act” during an accident as related to me by a few motorcycle experts. So, without further ado, let’s crash.

Disclaimer:
While this article contains – in the opinion of the author – valid and useful information, it’s meant for entertainment purposes only.
In other words, be responsible for your own actions and don’t try this at home. Moreover; if you do try it at home, don’t blame anyone but yourself if you break your ass.

On with the show.

We will divide motorcycle accidents into three different types. You can suggest additional types in the comments section if you can think of any.

Type 1: Didn’t cause it; couldn’t prevent it.
The kind of accident where there was nothing you could do to prevent it and there was nothing you did to cause it. You are sitting at an intersection and a drunk driver rams you from behind. A total freak

Dear Members,

We finally fixed the choppy video playback problem many of you have experienced.

As you know, we have big, high quality videos which require the use of a broadband internet connection. Before the fix, our videos did not buffer; they played as they were downloading. We where not aware of this problem until recently. If you played our videos on a connection slower than 950 Kb/s you got choppy playback.

Now, the videos will buffer and then play. If you have a very fast connection,  you will not notice any changes. If your connection is slow, the videos will buffer before playing. If your connection is very slow (i.e. less than 200 Kb/s) it may take up to 30 seconds for enough of the video to buffer before they play. Just be patient while the videos load. They will play.

Let us know if you have any questions and thanks goes out to our many members that identified this problem.

The 2wheeltips.com Team

This is how we approach motorcycle training after you have passed your basic motorcycle test.  If you think it would benefit you in the states, I will post some more information

THE ‘SYSTEM’

The principles of Advanced Motorcycling are based on a ‘System’ that is applied to every hazard when you are riding.  By applying this ‘System ‘ it ensures that you will be always travelling at the right speed, in the right gear and on the right position on the road.  In other-words it is a drill you follow as you ride along, not like when you go to work.  You know at a certain time there will be a bus at the stop and when you turn into work the mailman is always coming out.  With Advanced Motorcycling you have to get the mind to work more and appreciate what is happening around you more.  An Advanced rider will think, is the bus stopped, just about to pull off and where are the passengers.  Are they about to cross the road?  The Advanced rider does not think what a nice colour the bus is.

 

 For the ‘System’ to be applied you must be aware of what a hazard is.  A hazard is anything that contains an element of danger.  It can be described as follows:-

a)  Junctions, roundabout, bend or hillcrest,

b)  Movement and position of other road users,

c)  Variations in road surface and weather conditions.

 

Whenever you see a hazard the ‘System’ is applied and is used in phase.  The ‘System’ contains 6 phases and they must always be used in sequence.

 

In plain English, when you see something or anticipate something happening, which will effect you, you react according by using the ‘System’.  Like I mentioned earlier, by doing this, you increase your margin of safety by developing a defensive riding style that is also progressive...
MAKING YOUR OWN SAFETY BUBBLE AS BIG AS POSSIBLE

 

 

 

 

I hope you do not  mind me sharing this artilce.  I wrote as a series for an american web site, but they never used it.  My account of a trip to Normandy, France in 2005:

Hello, my name is Nigel Bowers and I recently retired from the Police force in Staffordshire, United Kingdom.  When I was in the Force I became an advanced Police motorcycle instructor and spent time at the driving school.  One of my Inspectors was very interested in World War 2 history, in particular the D Day landings.  He was at the time actively involved as a committee member with the running of the Merville Battery Museum.  So one thing lead to another and we both ended up in Normandy, France exploring the D Day sites.  I was on my 1989 Kawasaki ZX10, with Tony as my pillion.  That was in 1994 and I have been going back ever since.  In 2003 and 2005 Trevor, a friend of mine organised a trip to Arromanches to a ‘biker’ friendly bed and breakfast and this year I decided to organise a trip myself.  I own an advanced motorcycle training company and over the years some of the trained riders have remained friends.  A small group from my area went to the Harz Mountains in Germany in June,  but Max and myself  couldn’t make it.  Then Max e-mailed me mid June 2007,  he fancied a break, suggesting France.  Within a matter of 12 hours I had a group of 9 motorcyclists booked for the trip, Me on my 1999 Honda VFR 800 Fi-X, Max on his Aprilia Tuono, Roger on his Aprilia Capanord, George and Margaret on their Honda VFR 800 Fi-X , and Normandy first timers Geoff and Angela on their Yamaha 1000 Fazer and finnally Dave and June on their BMW R 1150R. 

It looked as if the trip was on, and our destination in France was the coastal town of Arromanches, Normandy famous for its war time mulberry harbour.  Just 150 yards from the sands of Gold Beach.  A quick telephone call to our host Adrian Cox at our bed and breakfast Normandybeach meant that we could only booked the rooms for a 5 day stop, as he was fully booked at the weekends.  So I decided to book Monday 10^th September 2007 until Friday 14^th September 2007.  Now the problem was getting to France……

As I live in the centre of England the first thing I had do was to find out the availability of ferries to cross the channel, or would it be better to use the channel tunnel. I got onto the internet and started looking for a way to get to France.  I am always envious of riders in the States, because they have all those roads to explore, without having to think about having to leave the country.  This may seem a strange thing to think about, but here in England, any time you consider any long distance touring, you need to leave the country, either by ferry or by the Channel Tunnel.    As I was taking another 5 motorcycles with me I had to look at the logistics of traveling to the Channel Tunnel and the convenience of a 35 minute crossing compared to either a 3 hour or 5 hour ferry crossing. Well in the end the ferry won and we booked on the Newhaven (226 miles from home) to Le Harve crossing operated by LD Lines.  I could not get a group booking so we all booked the ferry separately, quite easy in the end, no ticket sent, just an e-mail print out. 

 

A week before our departure date, I had arranged my travel insurance, foreign currency and set of bulbs for the motorcycle, a requirement for traveling in France.  Then I decided to spend some money on a new set panniers.  Over the years I have always found that when touring you have no space, jamming my clothing into a top box, seat tail pack and tank bag.  It’s a man thing, packing things that may come in handy and in the end up never using.  I ended up buying Givi, the E21 panniers and Givi wingrack.  I had enough space and only had my tool kit left in the top box, leaving the tank bag for my video equipment.   I was going to video the tour……

 

 A couple of e-mails to the tour group over the weeks arranging meeting start points; I suddenly found myself meeting the group on Monday 10^th September, at a very early 6.15am in the morning.   I had to get to Newhaven for the 1230pm ferry.  We made it with 30 minutes to spare, having come across traffic chaos on the M40 motorway into London. 

 

I was very impressed by the way we were treated by the staff of LD Lines.  The motorcycles were given allocated places on the ferry and tied down with strapping.  None of them moved during the crossing.  No problems as we cruised across the channel, relaxing in one of the onboard lounges and having a meal in one of the restaurants.  A stress free way to start you holiday.

We arrived at Le Harve at 6.30pm a 5 hour crossing (We have to add a hour due to time difference).

 

As soon as we arrived in France we needed fuel for our 90 minute journey to the bed and breakfast, along the excellent French motorways and good class dual carriageways.   The only thing I hadn’t planned for was the motorway tolls.  You can never loose change and you know the feeling, trying to be quick, that  is just taking your glove, or gloves off…….  In the end it worked out a one euro each per motorcycle……. 

 

This problem was the last thing on my mind as, for as soon as we left Le Harve we went over the a bridge called Le Pont de Normandie.  We seemed to climb for ever, but the views from the top were breathtaking.   Well enough of that, I had to get my party to Arromanches before it went dark and we were too late for an evening meal.  Well I made it in time, to be met by our host Adrian Cox, who had already stocked the fridge up with beer for us.  A few of the party went into the town for an evening meal, and some of use stayed at our B&B, sampling local wine, and home made pizza.  It was nice to be back in Normandy.  A strange thing to say but, ‘Home from Home’.

 

That was then end of day one, four more days to go……….

 

Links

 

Ferry  www.ldline.co.uk

Accommodation www.normandybeach.co.uk

 

All the trip was videoed with an onboard camera and here are some links on Youtube:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RHVqC5KCZ2A

This is a link to an article a client of mine wrote about his motorcycling trip to the United Kingdom.  It is a pdf and linked on my web site:


http://www.advancedmotorcycletraining.com/DavidHenke.PDF

Regards

Nigel