2Wheeltips

Ever wonder why your ears ring, you have a headache or you feel "fuzzy" or tired after a long ride? Ever notice at most motorcycle rallies you see many riders wearing not one but two hearing aids? Well....now you are about to find out.

Some of you are probably thinking it has something to do with loud engines or loud pipes. If you did, you are partially correct. A bigger part of it is wind noise. That ear ringing, fuzzy feeling, headache is from the loud noise. In fact, at highway speeds (50mph+) the sound of the wind rushing past your ears is louder than the engine. How loud is the wind noise? Close to that of a chainsaw! Seriously.

Now think about riding around month after month, year after year with a chainsaw blasting in your ears. What do you think will happen to your hearing? Nothing good. People who work in high noise environments know this already:

             1.  Factory workers use hearing protection
             2.  The guy cutting your grass wears hearing protection
             3.  Airline luggage handlers use hearing protection
             4.  If you go to a gun range, you must use hearing protection
             5.  Motorcyclists? (birds and crickets chirping)

For motorcyclists the solution is very simple, buy foam earplugs. They are about $0.09 - $0.11 a piece so there is really no excuse not use them. You can find them in most drug stores or at the local Lowe's or Home Depot. Just make sure they have a NRR (noise reduction rating) of 25 or more. The NRR is printed on the packaging.

Here are more articles on this topic from Dr. Melissa Heche AuD who wrote a 2wheeltips column on motorcycling and hearing.
/magazine/tag/hearing loss

Mental toughness what is that,
It is the moment that your butt sat;
You raise up your legs and saddle you did do,
Mentally in your mind, a motorcycle you rode too;
You heard the fears, from the voice of others,
All said you were getting yourself into trouble;
Some called you a fool, and said you were crazy,
But none of them thought it was amazing;
Off to the MSF course there you went,
Shaking like a leaf, and grinning like a mint;
Felt the heart letting you know it was there,
Felt your soul, say to you I dare;
Dare what is what you asked,
Are you saying I shouldn't stand up to the task?
The soul kept silent and did not speak a word,
Because it wanted you to get in touch with what you just heard;
The mind of yours began to wonder too,
If this is something that you must do;
You observed the class a varity of people you did see,
The old, the young, and folks just like me;
Here comes the instructor, with a great big smile,
He told everyone to learn to ride a bike will take a while;
Practice, practice, practice, practice he said over and over again,
He made me feel like I could do it, if I gave it a chance;
There was a time, when I wanted to walk out of the class,
When I heard about the accidents that took place in the year past;
The Hurt Report, I think it is what he said,
It talked about what caused a lot of bikers to become dead;
What the instructor highlighted from the report was not little,
A new way of learning to ride safe to keep you out of the hospital;
It was at that moment that my mind made a switch,
It got real tough, and I said to myself, "I am not going to quit."

When I have good experiences with vendors and products, I would like to share them. There is a gentleman by the name of Jim Davis and his Company is called Eastern Beaver and is located in Japan. www.easternbeaver.com The Eastern Beaver Company makes its own unique Motorcycle Fuse Panels, Headlight Relay Kits, Horn Relay Kits, Auxiliary Lights Relay Kits, Accessory Relay Kits, and many other Motorcycle Wiring Kits. The Eastern Beaver Company also sells motorcycle electric products and accessories, including Fuse Panels, Sockets, Plugs, Terminals, Connectors, Shrinktube, and much more. The Eastern Beaver Company sells Powerlet and Posi-Lock Products. Jim uses very high quality components and makes various wiring harnesses and connectors specifically designed for motorcycles. His workmanship is "first class"!! I just bought my 2nd item from him, a fused 3 terminal harness for hooking up 3 auxillary items all on a relay so they turn off when the ignition is turned off. Pricing is competitive but no one else sells anything like this so hard to compare. Shipping cost is not unreasonable, $9.19 for this item, coming from Japan. If you are doing electrical work on your bike, need a relay or wiring connectors for just about any motorcycle application, check-out Jim's web site.

A new rider is faced with a tremendous number of fears: from simply stopping the bike to the dreaded left turner.  Does that guy see me or is that person going to pull out of the parking lot in front of me?  In the past few months, I have spoken with a few new riders and they all have one particular fear in common; riding at highway speeds.  What I would like to address here are some points that may help you overcome these fears. I will also compare city riding to highway riding. 

Riding on the highway is actually considerably safer than riding around your suburban neighborhood.  If you consider that every parked car is a potential threat due to your inability to see behind or in front of the car parked on the side of the road.  It is possible for a child, adult or pet to come running out from between two parked cars.  In addition, you may not see that narrow driveway beyond the car parked on your right as a car comes speeding out without looking.  Obviously the list of dangers goes on, but I think you get the idea. 

When riding on the highways, all the cars are going in the same direction at pretty much the same speed.  If you have trained yourself to look far enough ahead as well as looking on your rearview mirrors, most moving threats can be seen within enough time to react.  A benefit of being on two wheels is because you are much narrower than the cars around you, avoidance is much easier as you have a full lane to maneuver if you see someone wandering into your lane.  Here are a few tips that make my highway riding safer and have worked for me. 

Stay out of the far right lane, vehicles entering and exiting the highway tend to do so without consideration for cars let alone motorcycles.  As you pass by an exit ramp and a car on your left realizes they are about to miss their exit and do a hard right across your lane, chances are you will not live to smack the driver in the head.  When vehicles enter the highway, more cars are doing the 3 lane change direct from the onramp, again if you are in the far right lane passing the onramp and a car decides to do this without looking, it’s unlikely you will be walking away. 

Drivers today are distracted more and more by electronic devices; we all see it regularly, and those people create a larger threat to us. It’s a smart idea to give the drivers around you a quick glance to see where their attention is.  If you see drivers talking on the phone, texting or playing with their GPS, simply get away from them by slowing down, speeding up, or just changing lanes taking you out of potential harm’s way. 

Riding along the highway can be a great experience.  You get to your destinations quicker if that is your goal, you have the ability to travel much farther and[you can] explore places nowhere near your normal ride radius.  One of the most common dangers on the highway is construction.  They say there are two seasons in the northeast, construction and winter.  You will eventually find yourself in a construction zone regardless of the area you live in.  Remember to observe the speed limits and watch for areas of loose gravel and where resurfacing is taking place.  Often times you will find yourself behind dump trucks and construction equipment spewing rocks and sand in your path; use special care when following these dastardly trucks and give yourself plenty of room.  Sometimes a road crew will grind off one lane and pave another, leaving a difference of three to four inches between lanes.  I caution you to not attempt to change lanes if you see this regardless of how gouged up your lane happens to be or how tempting that fresh pavement looks.  As soon as your front tire touches that big incline, the bike will slam to the ground, and at highway speeds.  Let’s just say bad things will happen.

Keeping yourself visible is critical in maintaining a good level of safety.  It is not simply good enough to wear your big bright neon vest (if you choose to wear one), but it is more important to maintain good lane position and at the appropriate speed.  You may think that riding down the middle of the road is good enough, however it reduces your visibility to the vehicles in front of you and also helps you blend into the vehicles behind you.  In addition, by riding in the center on the lane can increase the size of your blind spot within your rear view mirrors.  I recommend riding along the wheel tracks of the four wheel vehicles on the road.  A common danger on the roads today is debris from littering, things falling off of trucks and cars as well as tire pieces from blow outs on cars and tractor trailers.  Four wheeled vehicles can straddle the debris and if you are following a little too close to the car in front of you, you will not have time to react to it.  There is less likelihood that the debris will be in the wheel track as opposed to the center of the lane.

Changing lanes can be safe or dangerous depending on how you do it and the actions you take prior to it.  When you need to change lanes, it is crucial to make certain the lane next to you is clear.  Looking in that mirror is not good enough because cars and trucks are easily missed in that blind spot.  You must look over your shoulder fully prior to that change, turn on your indicator and look again.  Now check your mirror to see if anybody decides they want to occupy that spot first by speeding up behind you. Once you have determined that you can safely make the lane change, accelerate and lean the bike to get the bike over into the lane position you want to be in.  Cancel your indicator and continue to look down the highway at a safe speed.

One trick I use while riding on the highway is that I check the distance of the front tire of the car that poses the greatest threat to me to the line between us.  I will constantly scan the road ahead and behind while continuously monitoring the distance between that wheel and the line.  If for any reason I get the suspicion that the driver is about to change lanes or veer into mine, I will hit the horn and change my position.  Obviously, we don’t want to ride in a driver’s blind spot, but with the crowded roads and highways today, sometimes we simply cannot get enough space around us.  Using good common sense and lane positioning can reduce your risks.

Your ability to juggle your attention to various threats and itemize them into what poses the greatest danger to the least and continuously shuffle them in your mind so that you can take the appropriate action is what makes an excellent motorcyclist.  It is often referred to as situational awareness and plays a huge role in motorcycle safety.  Riding down a highway at 70 mph may seem more dangerous than your neighborhood, but it doesn’t have to be.  The most difficult part is simply maintaining attention and not falling into the trap of complacency.   

Not everybody rides a one thousand pound machine that is less susceptible to crosswinds.  A small 250 cc cruiser is much lighter than a 1300 cc bike.  The weight and profile of the motorcycle do make a big difference in how the machine handles in heavy winds.  Use your judgment when choosing to take to the highways because they tend to have large spans that leave you wide open to heavy winds.  If you are faced with some severe cross winds, the key is to not over compensate for the oncoming breeze.  Simply lean the bike slightly into the wind and feel the feedback from the bike.  Generally speaking, as the gust passes, the bike will begin to steer in the direction of the lean.  You need to use small inputs into the steering of the bike to maintain your lane position and reduce the lean when you feel the wind speed drop off.  Some highways will actually issue motorcycle bans when the wind speeds are too high. 

Another thing to remember while riding the highways (or any road for that matter) is to leave your pride at home.  If you get cut off, or someone does something stupid, it will not pay to chase them down or start waving your middle finger at them.  You don’t know who the driver is or what they are capable of and you may anger them to the point of them simply driving over you.  If you think it won’t happen, you’re wrong; I know of a few people that this has happened to, and some are no longer with us.  The driver will simply say that they didn’t see you and they go home to their family, you don’t. 

I love riding the highways, I have traveled all over the Eastern United States already with my wife and we have seen some amazing things.  Because I use my motorcycle to commute to work I am forced to ride the highways daily.  While everybody in their cars complains about the commute, I will often times seek the longer route home and set the cruise control on the bike and enjoy the ride.  Sometimes it’s just nice to enjoy a long straight stretch of highway.  If you are looking to expand your riding experience to include the slab, I highly recommend going out early on a Saturday or Sunday morning when traffic is very light.  You will get a better feel for what the speed feels like without the cage around you.  Just be careful of animals like deer that may be out at those times and enjoy the ride.

From the time we’re born until the time we die, our life is a series of learning experiences. In our youth we learn a lot in a very short period of time. As we age, the pace of learning slows but never entirely stops. (Hence the old adage: “you can’t teach an old dog new tricks”!!)

The same is true of overcoming fears. Think back to your childhood and remember all the things that scared you until you either simply outgrew or overcame that fear. Some that come to mind would be jumping off the 5’ diving board for the first time, climbing to the very top of my Dad’s extension latter, learning to water ski. The reason I bring this up is that I’ve known a number of people who are excited about the idea of riding a motorcycle, take the class, get their license, buy a motorcycle and then discover; “hey I’m not real comfortable on the street riding this thing, in fact I’m really scared sh…less!!"

Then what inevitably happens is they begin making excuses as to why they aren’t riding, it’s too hot, it’s too cold, looks like it might rain, and I’m just too busy this week. Then after about 2 or 3 seasons of making excuses as to why they aren’t riding their dusty motorcycle, they decide to sell it. Well, why have a few thousand dollars just sitting in the garage? It was a mistake to buy it in the first place because (insert the reason of your choice) and I never used it.

The root problem was they never made the effort to overcome the initial fear many of us have in our early days of riding, and ran away from it rather than confronting it and getting over it. I think it’s important to get this fact out in the open so all you new riders aren’t thinking something’s wrong with you because you’re not dancing out to your bike with a big grin on your face and zooming off to motorcycle nirvana with every ride. That’s sure not what happened to me!!  I’m coming out of the closet on this and will bare my soul to all of you 2Wheeltips members; I rode scared!! And I rode scared for almost 2 seasons before getting comfortable and relaxed on my bike.

In the first 2 seasons, I was not comfortable in traffic, I was not comfortable going over 50 MPH, I was not comfortable in windy conditions and I did not like riding in the city with all the traffic lights, STOP signs and tight turns. But I have done other stuff that has scared me, did it anyway and lived to tell about it, so I believed if I worked at this fear of riding a motorcycle, I could get past it and by golly I was right!!

I had just started a new job, bought a new house, did a long distance move from North Carolina to Iowa and the first thing I bought was not new furniture, but a Kawasaki 1600. Trust me, I had so much going on in my life at that point in time I didn’t have to work very hard to come up with excuses not to go riding. I saw me going down that “today’s excuse not to ride” road and got so angry at myself I made a weekly riding schedule. I scheduled myself to ride a minimum of 4 hours per week, unless some catastrophic weather condition prevented it, but then I had to make-up any lost hours the following week so I would average 8 hours of riding over a 2 week period.

I’ll be honest and tell you the entire first season from June – October I rode scared. My 2nd season started off the same but, by late July, I was getting more comfortable and actually started looking forward to getting out. By the end of my second season, I was feeling really good about riding and started to thoroughly enjoy my bike, and was riding every chance I could. If you’re a new rider, you may be having similar apprehensions and might consider calling it quits. I would challenge you to stick with it, confront your fear and work to overcome it like you have with so many other fears you have successfully overcome. The secret for me was like that old Nike commercial “Just Do It!!” I assure you the fear will go away and you’ll begin enjoying a wonderful experience that compares to nothing else. One other note:  I’m an “old dog” and was very excited to add motorcycling to my list of tricks!!

I was coming home from pleasure ride the other day and as I came round a blind bend a bright new shiny Porsche overtook at warp 10.  What the moron behind the wheel didn't see was that I was following a police bike.  The next time I saw the Porsche it was parked in a layby with the policeman writing a ticket.
Who said there's never a policeman around when you need one?

Rider Education Article
by Gene Knutson
International Director, Rider Education

Deadly Motorcycle Accident Statistics
Take a look at the statistics below if you think riding without a motorcycle helmet is a good way to save money.
With the number of U.S. motorcyclist deaths jumping 78% to 5,154 in 2007 from 2,897 in 2000, a recent University of Southern California study points to the wearing of a helmet as the major factor in surviving a motorcycle crash.

Below are additional statistics that explain why motorcycle insurance premiums continue to rise.

Motorcycle Fatality Statistics:
Although motorcycles represent only 3% of all registered vehicles in the United States, motorcyclists accounted for 13% of total traffic fatalities in 2007.  Per registered vehicle, the fatality rate for both motorcycle operators and passengers is 5.5 times higher than that for passenger car occupants.  Per vehicle mile traveled, motorcyclists are about 35 times more likely to die in a car crash than people traveling in passenger cars.
These findings are among the most recent statistics released by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

Deadly Motorcycle Crash Statistics:
During 2007, 50% of all fatal motorcycle crashes involved collisions with another type of motor vehicle in transport. Of these two-vehicle crashes, 78% of motorcycles involved were struck from the front. Only 5% were struck from the rear.  In 25% of fatal motorcycle crashes, the motorcyclists crashed into a fixed object like a telephone pole or a concrete abutment.   Speeding was a factor in 36% of fatal motorcycle crashes during 2007.  This compares with 24% for passenger cars, 19% for light trucks and 8% for large trucks.  Florida (530), California (495) and Texas (375) had the highest number of motorcycle fatalities in 2007.

Fewer Motorcyclists Wear Helmets:
The NHTSA estimates that helmets saved 1,784 motorcyclists from death in 2007. If all motorcyclists had worn helmets, an additional 800 lives could have been saved.  Helmets are considered to be 37% effective in preventing fatal injuries to motorcyclists. This means for every 100 motorcyclists killed in crashes while not wearing a helmet, 37 of them could have been saved had all 100 worn helmets.
Sadly, use of motorcycle helmets in the U.S. has declined by 13 percentage points to 58% in 2007 from 71% in 2000.
Remember, in an accident your head is usually one of the first parts of your body to feel the impact.  Why chance it, wear a helmet and continue to see the sunrise tomorrow.

I read the words of a friend of mine,
she comment on my writing all the time;
Ride and write she said you can't do,
hold up your bike, while writing to you;
This became a real challenge to me,
to check it out to see if it could be;
I got up early this morning and took a ride,
pen in my hand and paper at my side;
Which road to I take, I asked myself,
Before I knew it, I had to catch my breath;
I felt like I was over my head,
being a fool will cause me to be dead;
How do I do this and keep it safe,
without the bike getting out of place;
I found myself a parking lot,
It was there I discovered, I could give it a shot;
Left hand on the handle as I ride,
Watching my lane and putting paper on the glide;
I clipped it to my windshield traveling bag,
there it was in place, and I felt glad;
I reached for my pen which was near my chest,
stuck in my riding jacket, and I made a good guess;
What do I write, I asked myself,
Just when I looked up, I was facing an elk;
Where in the world did that come from I looked twice,
 It was an elk picture on the bill board with written advice;
A quick U-turn, I had to make,
or crash the bike into the fence gate;
I turned it around and a poem came to my mind,
and these are the words, I wrote within a grace of time;
Before I can tell you what I wrote,
I must tell you, I almost dropped my pen and its no joke;
The quick U-turn that I made,
I heard the pegs scraping, and then I prayed;
"Pray as I ride" is what I wrote,
Riding and writing is no joke.
Trust me it can be done,
But doing it while making a U-turn is not fun;
What did I write, that rhymed with "ride",
It was, "Lord keep me alive."

What is the Love is the question that we ask,
it cause us to behave as if we are being cast;
There is a part that we must play,
especially if you are going to ride your bike today;
You look outside and clouds you do see,
rain gear in hand thinking it won't rain on me;
No saddle bags for this ride today,
I want to look cool while riding anyway;
So my rain gear I do not take with me as I go,
Mounting my bike and riding slow;
Up at the clouds, I am always looking,
wondering in my mind, do I need to start booking;
Booking where is what I ask myself,
do I go back home or just be aware;
The ride feels good and the wind is in my face,
I can just keep riding all over the place;
I feel a few drops touching my face,
but it does not hurt as I set my pace;
Soaking and wet is what I feel,
but my riding spirit it did not kill;
I got in the zone and there I stayed,
 I even kept giving the biker's wave;
I passed many who rain gear they wore,
 it made me want to stop at the biker's store;
I asked myself a question or two,
what will a real 2wheeltips biker do;
What is the difference between taking a shower or riding in the rain,
one is pleasure and the other one is pain;
I then realized, I had gotten out of the zone,
my mind was thinking about going home;
I challenged myself over and over again,
mind over matter and keep a strong will if you can;
Get in the zone you aren't doing anything wrong,
Get in the zone and it will take the chill from your bones;
Get in the zone and become one with nature,
Get in the zone and this ride will make ya;
It will make you do what, is what I wanted to know too,
It will make you love what you do.

I have read the book,
which got me hooked;
It told of stories and places to ride,
but I found that much of it was jive;
On the road and away I went,
butt in the saddle making a dent;
I moved it around and squeezed it too,
however it was still in pain, and I didn't know what to do;
Every 100 miles, I would take a rest,
felt it was the best thing for my butt I guess;
The question in your mind is always there,
my butt is asking me do I really care;
I see other riders waving with a grin,
as if their butt is sitting on a pin;
Hard riders, soft riders and tough ones too,
butts gets numb and they don't know what to do;
Some keep riding and some seem to stop,
Some buy new seats with gel in a certain spot;
It makes you wonder why we do it so,
When your butt is saying stop, but your mind is saying go;
Which one are we going to trust,
To ride a bike you must be mentally tough.