Frightening, or perhaps just interesting, Halloween Motorcycle News

November has always been my least favorite month. It signals the end of all that is good: warmth, freedom of movement, the green of summer and the beauty of early fall, and of course in northern climes it marks the end of another motorcycling season. For going on forty years I've sadly marked November as the time to park the bike and winterize it. In old days (how many remember this piece of history?) the insurance on motorcycles lapsed during the winter months so there wasn't even any occasional riding on a 'warm' day. November meant the end of riding until at least March or April.

The end of October and first of November bring us death-based observations such as Halloween, All Souls Day, Day of the Dead, and other bright and cheerful events marking the end of life. It is with this backdrop that I once again admit that summer is history and that I must winterize the bike yet one more year.

But there is still life in those aspects of the sport that transcend the riding season. The business side of the industry continues with new products and continual research; legal issues wrestle their way through the regulatory process at all levels; and as another racing season wraps up exciting news is once again made on the national and international stages. I've decided to breathe some life into this biking season by spending some time on these other facets of the motorcycle lifestyle. So here we go.

In recent days two representatives from Brammo, Inc., of Ashland, OR, rode the company's totally electric motorcycles from Detroit to Washington, DC, retracing the routes taken by GM and Chrysler execs when they made their famous hat-in-hand trip to DC earlier this year, in hybrid cars after their corporate jets were grounded. Brammo wanted to demonstrate their Enertia Motorcycle, an electric bike already on the market ready for distribution. The below blog follows their road trip and time in DC as they try to get an appointment with Barack Obama, and give him one of their bikes. Fun and interesting reading.

http://www.shockingbarack.com/

It is fairly well known that Brad Pitt is a motorcycle enthusiast, regularly riding in the LA and Hollywood area. He normally wears a helmet to provide some anonymity as he enjoys a ride alone or with friends. But of course this doesn't deter the paparazzi who follow every move that movie stars make hoping for a one-of-a-kind photo that will make them rich.

A few days ago Pitt was involved in a minor accident when a nosy photographer pressed him a little too closely, and he tried to squeeze between cars to escape. Only slight damage to the bike, none to Pitt.
http://www.examiner.com/x-14650-Entertainment-Examiner~y2009m10d25-Brad-Pitt-in-motorcycle-accident-involving-Paparazzi

On an issue having nothing at all to do with celebrity and good looks - Unfortunately there are too many riders who equate noise with power and personal status. Posers who think they must run straight pipes to be cool are the single greatest threat to the motorcycling lifestyle out there today. They are going to bring the government, and worse, public opinion, crashing down on our heads, and we'll some day all be forced by law to ride the equivalent of Honda Civics with two wheels.
I have nothing against a motorcycle that makes its presence known with a deep powerful exhaust note typical of a V-twin, or that shows off the power of a well tuned 4-cylinder sport bike. It's music to my ears!

What I hate is the obnoxious sound that any internal combustion engine makes when it is improperly equipped with a tuned and matched exhaust system. Noise does not equate to power, and more noise doesn't equal more power! All unmuffled engines sound the same - a lawnmower with a rusted out muffler, or a '72 bucket of rust automobile with holes in its muffler, sound essentially the same as a motorcycle with straight pipes. Nothing sexy about any of them!

Anyone who knows a whit about engine tuning knows that a certain amount of back pressure, provided by a tuned exhaust system, is critical. Intake and exhaust, and everything that happens in between, are interconnected actions, and altering one without tuning the others just reduces power and efficiency.

Over the years I've had a lot of fellow riders comment on how poorly their bike ran after they put aftermarket pipes on. It's louder, but now it surges, has less power in various RPM ranges, starts harder, and in general runs like crap. Well, Duh! You just undid years of engineering research and testing done by the manufacturer, turning a well tuned machine into a backyard experiment. As a youth I remember lots of young guys who thought that the first way to a cool sexy car was to alter the mufflers in some way. Usually they just made it run worse, albeit louder. Not sure any of the female persuasion thought it was either cool or sexy, though.
I have nothing against aftermarket manufacturers of exhaust systems. There are very reputable companies that make exhaust systems that are lighter, better looking, and when properly matched to the bike, can make it run better when other parts of the system are correspondingly adjusted. And these quality replacement pipes are not ridiculously loud. I've used them in the past on some of my bikes with good results.

Anyway, after all these years of talk and hand-wringing by those in power, finally we have something to hang our hats on - - a common sense and easily verifiable standard by which to judge motorcycle noise. I suspect that many states and municipalities will enact this standard as law by reference.
Read about it below.

http://www.motorcycle-usa.com/713/3788/Motorcycle-Article/SAE-Releases-Motorcycle-Sound-Test.aspx

I love watching motorcycle racing. I haven't figured out why NASCAR racing, where drivers strapped in a cage repeatedly race around an oval, is so popular with spectators, and yet motorcycle racing doesn't have the following necessary for prime time TV. To my way of thinking there is no comparing the excitement level between a car driver that isn't even visible to the viewer, and a motorcycle pilot hanging off the bike at insane angles and speeds, inches away from the concrete and other bikes, and at speeds at least as fast as the car drivers. Motorcycle tracks are also quite different from stock car racing in their configuration. No simple ovals, bike tracks have many built in tight curves along with high speed straights. This sort of road race demands infinitely more in skill besides simply holding a line on a steeply banked oval.

There are several levels of racing on road courses, with the international Grand Prix and MotoGP being the best of the best. And the best of the best individual racer for the last decade has been a young Italian by the name of Valentino Rossi, now with an amazing 9 world championships to his credit. Read more about this amazing athlete and showman below.


http://www.motogp.com/en/news/2009/Rossi+gives+his+full+reaction+to+ninth+World+title

In domestic motorcycle road racing the best racers compete in the AMA Pro American Superbike category. These races are great fun to watch at venues such as Daytona, Mid-Ohio, Road America, Laguna Seca, and many more fabled tracks across the country.

http://www.motorcycle-usa.com/115/Motorcycles/AMA-Superbike.aspx

How about some funny, or just plain weird news to lead us into this month of darkness:
In Germany, a woman motorcyclist riding in a completely legal manner was found 50% guilty by the court for hitting a drunk who was walking (stumbling) across an intersection against the light. The accident occurred during one of Germany's many beer festivals, and the judge said that the motorcyclist should have anticipated drunks being present during the festival and been more careful. Can't win for losing!

In Florida, a man was arrested for drunk driving on his motorcycle on I-75 - did I mention he was also naked? Turns out it was his 5th DUI arrest! He's lucky to be alive - clothed or not!
In Pennsylvania, a motorcycling dentist was arrested because his female passenger happened to be naked. Putting these two cases together we can now assume that both the operator and passenger must be clothed while riding a bike.

The town of Harleysville, SC, has a problem with its town signs being stolen. For some reason the police suspect Harley owners are behind this crime spree. Talk about jumping to conclusions! I more highly suspect those Suzuki riders.

On the bright side, only five more months till spring.

The Whims & Vagaries of Mother Nature

Bikers have to be tough, resilient and determined because Mother Nature constantly throws her best punches at us. We can either surrender and find a place to retreat from her wrath, or we can shake our fist at her (maybe even raise a finger) and ride on regardless.


A tornado touched down about two miles away when the above picture was taken in Wisconsin. (While taking refuge under a gas station awning. All the power in the area had been knocked out and it was as dark as night, though it was mid-afternoon)


It was below freezing on the Cherohala Scenic Skyway at about 5,000 feet elevation near the NC / TN border when this picture was taken....

....and at least 100 degrees when this photo was taken not far from Baton Rouge.

It doesn't take long for the memories of discomfort to fade away, leaving behind only the lasting impressions of adventure and enjoyment. That's why we do it.

Anybody who participates in any outdoor activity knows this fundamental truth.

Time To Act!

Every motorcyclist, whether their riding experience spans 4 months or 40 years, can relate stories of how cagers (somebody driving a 4-wheeled vehicle) did something stupid that put their safety as a rider in jeopardy. My experience confirms that the greatest danger out on the roads for bikers is stupid drivers; with stupid having many subcategories. I've seen them all: the 17-year old laughing and joking around in a car filled with friends and not paying any attention to what he or she is doing; arrogant 40-year old self-important jerks who think that their schedule and needs supersede everybody elses; and sweet but dangerous little old ladies who unfortunately are no longer capable of safely driving a car on public roads.

Many groups have formed to help the fight against one dangerous category - drunk drivers: Students Against Drunk Driving (SADD), Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) and others try to draw attention to that particular problem. Bikers don't discriminate against just drinking drivers - we despise dumb drivers in general - and cover it all with BADD - Bikers Against Dumb Drivers!

I'm going somewhere with this. The latest group of very dangerous dumb drivers are those who use cell phones while driving for both talking and texting. Texting while driving has been proven by studies at Virginia Tech and Car and Driver magazine to be MORE dangerous than operating a vehicle while drunk! The studies found that drivers' reaction time is slower while texting than while driving drunk. And obviously the danger goes far beyond just reaction time. When someone is texting on a cell phone they are looking at the phone, not where they're going. This creates the reality of cars crossing center lines, slamming into a stopped vehicle, going off the road, and many other life-threatening scenarios.
According to the Wireless Association, more than 1 trillion text messages were sent by users in all situations in 2008, triple the number sent in 2007. The U. S. Department of Transportation recently reported that almost 6,000 drivers are killed each year due to distracted driving, which includes texting.

Enough Already!!

It is time that a national law prohibiting use of cell phones while driving be passed - or at the very minimum, that a law banning texting while driving be instituted. I don't have the statistics to prove this beyond observations and conversations with other drivers, but I believe that the drivers who text the most are exactly those with the least experience and ability behind the wheel; i.e. young and inexperienced new drivers.

Fact is, I don't want any one of these impaired drivers, be they 17 or 97, killing me or another motorcyclist, or any innocent person for that matter.

If Congress or individual state legislatures on their own initiative won't pass laws banning texting while driving, we need to start applying pressure to make it happen.

A quick check shows that only ten states have passed laws banning texting by all drivers, regardless of age, while operating a motor vehicle. These are: WA, CA, UT, MN, TN, LA, VA, CT, NJ, and AK. If you live in one of those states consider yourself fortunate and well served (at least in this particular issue) by your state government.

Seven other states have passed anti-texting laws that apply to novice drivers under age 18. It's a start but definitely inadequate!

The rest of us live in the wild, wild, west as far as texting and chatting cell phone drivers are concerned.
If you live in Michigan now is the time to contact your rep and senator. HB 4394 is going through the legislative process. It's an imperfect bill because it defines a violation of the law as a secondary offense, meaning that even if a police officer sees somebody driving down the road texting on their phone they couldn't pull them over unless they saw a primary violation at the same time - speeding, weaving, or some other violation for which an officer can legally stop somebody.

Proving the cause of a vehicle accident beyond doubt isn't always possible, but it is estimated that 150 people die each year in Michigan because of the driver, or another driver, talking or texting.
The MI bill would prohibit people from reading, writing or sending a text message while operating a vehicle. Violators could receive a fine of up to $100, and they would receive no points on their driving record. A weak law, but perhaps it'll be a first step toward stopping this sort of dangerous behavior.

Some quick and likely incomplete research indicates that six other states have bills introduced that would restrict texting in some manner if enacted. Riders in these states - OR, CO, IL, AR, VT and MD - need to contact their legislators and apply pressure now. Depending on the state, some enrolled bills die at the end of the legislative session if not enacted into law, so there isn't much time left in the year to act.

I have no problem with intelligent people making decisions that put themselves at risk - in fact I think it is part of the human experience. Whether downhill skiing, sky diving, motorcycling, rock climbing, extreme sports, or whatever - if you've got the ability, desire, and brains to do it then go for it! I've certainly done my share of things that may have seemed lacking in common sense to others but which I found to be enjoyable or challenging. But don't put others in danger because of your activities or stupidity. That's my only caveat.