Road Captains or Road Kings?

By Robyn W. Johnson, Ph.D.

As a newcomer to the HOG and a first timer on the back of a motorcycle, I wasn't sure how I'd feel. I knew what it was like to crash in a truck flying 65 mph down the freeway. Now, here I sat on the top of a tire, staring down at the asphalt!

Well, our Road Captains fixed all of that. From the preparation and safety tips to the minute we pulled out on the road, to the block and transfer on the freeways, I was blown away by their professionalism in how they shepherd us, the riders. They protect the road in front of us, behind us and beside us. And all for what?

So we can enjoy “The Ride.” These people cared more about my safety than anyone ever had, and they didn't even know me. So to me, they are our Kings…our Road Kings. They make me proud to be a member of the HOG and an owner of that great brand named HARLEY DAVIDSON®.

Hats off to our Road Captains.

A message From Curt C. South Bay HOG

Low Speed Control

The key to controlling your motorcycle at low speed is to:

1. Keep light pedal press on the rear brake
2. Keep the clutch and throttle at engagement point.

What NOT to do is: DON'T TOUCH THE FRONT BRAKE. By touching the front brake you almost 100% of the time drop your motorcycle.

Done correctly can make controlling your motorcycle at low speed very easy. Try it I think you will find that it really works well. For more information and training on this there is a video called “Ride Like a Pro” at www.ridelikeapro.com they have several other good video training tapes available.

Drinking and Riding
Take a close look at the Enthusiast Magazine Summer 2004 on page 10. There is some very eye opening facts there, Like:

• 40% of all fatal motorcycle accidents involve riders who are under the influence
• Close to 50% of all motorcycle riders who die in single motorcycles crashes are intoxicated
• Motorcycle rider in fatal crashes have the highest intoxication rate of any other type of driver

It makes you think… your odds are not good when it comes to drinking while on a ride. Drink while riding is like flipping a coin only you live or die not heads or tails.

Curt C.
South Bay HOG

Hearing Protection

This is more for your personal health than anything or if you like hearing. Tinnitus is a ringing of the ears after
the ear is exposed to damaging noise levels. Over time this can cause permanent damage to the inner ear. When
riding the pipes are not the biggest issue it's the wind following over you and the motorcycle. Once your speed
exceeds 40 miles an hour the wind noise generated become the primary noise. This wind noise can exceed 90
decibels with a full faced helmet. OSHA (Occupational Safety & Health Administration) requires employers to
provide hearing protection to it's employees if levels of noise reaches 85 decibels.

Ear plugs can reduce this damaging noise level as well as on long rides help reduce fatigue. There are several
types of ear plugs available, from the molded type (a gun show seems to have better prices than a motorcycle show
price, I guess they figure we have more money or something) to the foam type that you throw away. Find something
that comfortable and see if you do not feel better after the next ride.

Eye Protection

Different from last month this is one you should spend some money on. This is some of the most important safety
gear you can buy for yourself and the rest of the group you ride with. It is important to know in motorcycle case studies

accident not cause by someone else was related to something getting something in the eye or an actual eye injury
and that in turn caused the rider to be distracted. You want your eyewear to meets ANSI and VESC standards. You
want to make sure the lenses are a polycarbonate. This is very hard material and can save your eyesight as well as
save you  and us from an accident during a ride.

It is also important to remember to have clear or lightly tinted lenses for night riding. Your tinted lenses need to have

UV protection as well to protect the eye from the sunlight. If you have tinted eye protection that meets the ANSI and
VESC than you know the UV protection is good.

Lane Change Safety

We have been looking at some of the most recent rides and have had some close calls with vehicles changing lanes through the pack during our lane change. The reason is having large gaps in the pack where there is time for vehicles to try and get in causing very close calls.

As a result the Road Captains have determined that we need to help keep these gaps closed.

The way we will try and do this is have the Rear Road Captain(s) come up along side the pack throughout the ride signaling riders to close gaps in the pack. Please help the Road Captains in this effort. The other thing that can help is when a gap occurs and you are the lead, please try and catch up to the pack as quickly as is safe to do so. We will be discussing this at the beginning of each ride.

This is for all of our safety when riding as a group.

Curt C.
South Bay HOG

Motorcycle Safety Gear
Motorcycle Safety

Tools of the Trade - Software

Motorcycle safety - Course information including links into the Motorcycle Safety Foundation with information about California safety course and tips concerning motorcycle gear, motorcycle clothing and helmet safety.

Buying a bike? Great. But before you venture out on the open road, get the gear you need to stay here.

You may have seen the commercial.

It has one of the hottest, young NBA stars riding through the streets of Los Angeles to the multi-million-dollar building housing the hardwood court where his team plays its home games.

Yes, he's wearing a helmet. And a leather jacket and gloves and long pants. But after he pulls into the garage, he dismounts and profiles his sponsor's shoes, a pair of low-cut sport shoes.

Low cut? Not a good idea, unless he's ready to endure some serious skin grafts in the event he, say, low-sides his bike while navigating one of those heavily patched intersections in downtown L.A. and grinds some epidermis off an ankle.

Always remember the adage about people adventurous enough to ride motorcycles: There are those who've crashed and those who are going to crash. When that time comes, proper protective equipment—including over-the-ankle boots—is essential.

And to better the odds against that crash, one of the most important pieces of equipment isn't something you wear. It's a card issued by the Motorcycle Safety Foundation.

Hardware First
Bell Helmets' Web site perhaps says it best: "If you have a $10 head, wear a $10 helmet."

We're not going to get dragged into the debate over mandatory helmet laws—although we wouldn't venture out of our driveway without one. Still, that's a Darwinian choice.

But if you're going to buy one, here are some things to think about. Do you value your chin and nose? If so, buy a full-face helmet. This also holds if you're concerned about flying debris. Full-face helmets come with full-face shields. A bug in the eye or a rock in the mouth can be more than a bit disconcerting when you're trying to maneuver a single-track vehicle in heavy traffic or around a curve at speed.

As for safety standards, the more prevalent is the U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 218, shorthanded to the DOT standard. Any helmet sold in the United States for use on a motorcycle must by law meet the DOT standard. Only problem is, the standard hasn't been updated substantively since it was first promulgated in 1974. At first, only one size of each helmet model had to be tested. Then, in 1980, all sizes had to be tested but on only a "medium" head size. Since 1988, all sizes have to be tested on the relevant head size.

Still, the underlying measurements—impact energy and type of impact—haven't changed, despite virtually quantum leaps in helmet design and construction materials.

The other standard—and the one endorsed by most race-sanctioning bodies—is developed by the Snell Memorial Foundation of North Highlands, Calif. This standard is updated about every five years and exceeds the FMVSS 218 requirements in virtually every measure. The most recent Snell standard is the M-2000.

Both the federal government and Snell test helmets randomly purchased at retail. Test results and certificates can be found at the NHTSA and Snell Memorial Foundation sites.

And while you may be bidding on a used bike, please don't even think about buying a secondhand helmet, especially given the newest materials, which can take a fairly solid pavement hit with a head inside and show only an apparently superficial scratch. "I'd no more buy a used helmet than I'd buy used underwear," says Ed Becker, executive director of the Snell Memorial Foundation.

Budget to replace it, too, and regularly. Mike Schield, national sales manager for Shoei Safety Helmet Corp., says a helmet should be replaced "every three to five years." Becker says, "We recommend every five years, depending on what the [helmet] manufacturer says."

This isn't just to churn inventory. While the helmet structurally may still protect the brain inside it, says David Thom, senior program manager with the Head Protection Research Laboratory, Paramount, Calif., normal wear and tear can make it uncomfortable and a hazard if, for example, the lining is turning to dust and falling into the rider's eyes.

"It is an expendable piece of personal protective equipment," Thom says.

Then Comes Software
Speaking from experience as a motorcycle roadracer, if there's a gap where skin is exposed to pavement, the pavement will find it. For obvious reasons, then, T-shirts, shorts and tennis shoes invite major road rash.

Leather is best (you might be surprised how far you can slide before the leather burns through and your skin starts blistering), but heavy-gauge denim is next best; it's a good bet Levi Strauss never thought about this back in the days of the California Gold Rush. And regardless of the material, gloves, long sleeves and long pants are de riguer.

As are, again, over-the-ankle foot coverings.

But by way of short-circuiting this lecture, a most-credible reference is the riding gear page on the Motorcycle Safety Foundation's Web site.

And Now the Card
Whether you're a new rider, a Rubbi (rich, urban biker) or a Bambi (Born-Again, Middle-Aged Biker—a Brit term), riding a motorcycle isn't the same thing as riding a bicycle. And data collected by the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration show those Bambis are contributing increasing numbers of motorcycle injuries and fatalities, more than doubling from 1990 to 1999.

Maybe there's a reason. A task analysis conducted by the Motorcycle Safety Foundation in the early 1970s found only walking a high-wire required more decision-making than riding a motorcycle.

From this study, the MSF—full disclosure: the MSF is funded by every major motorcycle manufacturer selling bikes in the U.S.—developed a rider training course that's become the standard followed by every state with a motorcycle license endorsement and accepted by every insurance company in the U.S. offering a motorcycle training-related discount.

In fact, some states waive the motorcycle licensing test for riders who've completed the MSF's rider course.

The basic, two-day course combines seven hours of classroom with eight hours of on-bike, range sessions. Motorcycles and helmets are provided as part of the course. The MSF also has developed a one-day, seven-hour, refresher course for experienced riders. You do this one on your own bike, and wearing your own helmet, but as does the basic course, it renews with most insurance companies your eligibility for a premium discount.

Do the MSF courses deliver on their promise?

"We know 92 percent of crash-involved motorcyclists are self-taught or taught by friends," says Elisabeth Piper, director of corporate affairs for the MSF.

Carry the card.

If you would like to participate in the many group skills rides that our chapter put on, Click Here and give us your information as we would be glad to have you in our group. We typically have skills rides twice per month with chapter rides each week.

Click Here to make an entry on the submit form.

Motorcycle safety Sponsored by California Harley Davidson - Course information including links into the Motorcycle Safety Foundation with information about California safety course and tips concerning motorcycle gear, motorcycle clothing and helmet safety.