2Wheeltips

David Hough, the author of the Proficient Motorcycling books, sent us this advice regarding charging batteries on motorcycles.  We felt it was excellent information for all to read, so here it is:
 
"I don't know if you have covered battery charging, or intend to. In a nutshell, VRLA batteries (Gel and AGM) require higher voltage and amperage to properly charge. That means that your "old" charger (Yuasa, Battery Doc, Deltran, etc.) made a few years ago for vented "wet" lead/acid batteries won't keep your new AGM or Gel battery happy. Further, with today's exotic electrical systems, (CAN bus, etc.) there can be parasitic draws on the battery even with the key off.
 
I've been working my way through this because I have an Odyssey VRLA battery in Sparky.
 
I recently ran upon an excellent chart of the algorithms for different battery types. It's from Optimate, but is useful for any battery type. http://www.optimatepro.com/4x4/ click on the charging algorithm under the picture of the charger for the pdf file.
 
DLH"

More wisdom and advice from David Hough:

Q: What is the deal with riders in the 2 - 3 year range and accident rate increase?
 
A:  It's easy to get cocky on a bike, because once you master the basic skills you might think you're ready for anything. After two or three seasons, riders may start to take increased risks, not realizing that the lessons are just starting. A few crashes or near misses typically gets the overconfident rider back on track.

Q:  Where do you see the future of motorcycling going? From what camp will the new leaders and innovators come? Sport bikers? Women bikers? Do you feel that there is a passing of the guard happening?
 
A:  The motorcycle industry is very nervous about the average age of motorcyclists, which is increasing something like 7 years every ten. There just aren't as many young riders getting in, but there are lots of older riders fading away. With competition from all sorts of exciting sports and games, the motorcycle industry seems to be building faster and more aggressive machines. Unfortunately, race-technology bikes are expensive, and young people typically can't afford them. One interesting phenomenon is the sales of three-wheeled motorcycles such as the Can Am Spyder. Spyder buyers seem to be young professionals ready for something exciting, but without the same level of risk of a bike.
 
The BMWMOA Foundation recognizes the need to encourage younger riders, so they have a two day "camp" prior to each International rally for less experienced riders. The idea is to get newer, usually younger, riders involved in the social activities such as seminars, rather than just "hanging out."
 
There are a lot more women riders now, and there are women riders' seminars and conferences to allow women to encourage and educate each other. Personally, I'd prefer to see women just become "motorcyclists" without the need to segregate. Women riders are a huge untapped market that the industry has been slow to recognize.
 
Q:  What was motorcycling like when you started? There wasn't a "Hurt" report, a 750cc bike was considered "big", decent books, training or other resources.

A:  Actually, when I started, a 650cc was a "big" bike. The "senior" class on the Isle of Man was 500cc. Lots of people were riding around on 250s, 500's, and 650s. There wasn't much in the way of riding gear, other than leather boots and leather jackets. It took a while for useful helmets to come along. Bell came out with a full coverage helmet with a tiny face opening that made it look like a diving helmet. Everyone knew that motorcycling was dangerous; no one knew exactly why. And when the big buying boom of the 1970s came along, crash and fatality numbers shot through the roof.
 
Q:  Advice for the "no helmet", t-shirt/flip-flop and shorts crowd. You don't want to rain on their parade but anything you can mention that can possibly help?
 
A:  Some people are so focused on personal freedom that they will cling to any scraps of logic to "prove" that helmets aren't useful. I'm with (the late) Hugh Harry Hurt here. Even the cheapest DOT approved helmet is better than no helmet. I would prefer we not have to have helmet laws, but too many riders have proven they aren't too sharp about avoiding crashes and injuries. It's not possible to crash without involving other people. And neither the Constitution nor the Bill of Rights guarantee the freedom to operate a motor vehicle any way you want. There's a huge difference between helmet usefulness and helmet laws. If those who fight helmet laws would simply wear helmets voluntarily, there would be no need of laws.

This is the last segment from our interview with David Hough.  Stay tuned to watch the interview videos, also on 2wheeltips.com.
 

Q:   1) What has been the key to your success/status in your field? 2) Why are you a part of this field (what's your deepest motivation for doing what you do)?"
(submitted by Jackson G., Belmont, CA)

A:  One key to success is being committed to what you want to do. But I've also been fortunate to have bumped into people who encouraged me, and to have worked in a profession that prepared me for the tasks I later took on. I didn't decide to get into motorcycle safety. Rather, I just started sharing what I had discovered, and riders were receptive to my ideas. It was sort of like a cute little puppy that grew into a huge mastif.

Q:  "My questions would investigate how he came to be involved in this field. I like those stories, and usually offer insight and perspective."  (Submitted by Lawrence S., Washington,DC)
 
A:  When I first started riding, there wasn't much available to help me learn. I taught myself, with the advice of other, more experienced riders, who would offer advice such as "when you stop being afraid of the bike it's time to get off." Their advice wasn't very helpful, and I continued to look for more information and try to figure it all out. I suppose my interest in motorcycling was helped along by my curiosity about mechanical things. When I was about 6 I took apart a cap pistol, but never could get it back together right. Later, I was working on bicycles, then building small boats and fixing outboard motors. Most of my knowledge came from trying things by trial and error, and then figuring out how to avoid making the same errors the next time.

Q:  "Do you have any regrets? What's your favorite memory? What bike(s) do you wish you had in your garage from your history?  (Submitted by Lorin R., Austin,TX)

A:  Sure, I have a few regrets, but mostly they are guilt trips for saying something that I should have kept to myself. I don't think we make mistakes. We just put one foot in front of the other, and later on, we realize some of those steps were mistakes. Once in a while we stumble on something unique. One year I was returning home from a big BMW rally in Missoula, Montana, and decided to take the long way home. I was driving my sidecar rig, and headed for Hells Canyon between Idaho and Oregon. I found out about a power line access road that climbed up about 4,000feet out on the Oregon side, and I still remember that as a pleasurable adventure. I moved on from bike to bike, but I still have my BMW "airhead" I bought new in 1980. Does that count as "history"?
 
Q:  If you were a motorcycle what kind would you be and why?" (submitted by Nicholas C., Dallas,TX)

A:  If I were a "motorcycle" it would have to be a 1937 Indian Scout. Come to think of it, maybe I am a '37 Scout.

Q:  Give us your advice on appropriate motorcycles for newbies. We see brand spanking new riders on bikes that make us do a double take. What bikes are absolutely off limits for a person just out of basic rider training?  Do you have any pointers for those who want to get into riding? (submitted by Tony B, Edison, NJ)

A:  There is a tendency for riders to buy machines that are too big and too powerful, and for friends to suggest getting a powerful bike right away. When you are a newbie, you have lots of new thoughts rattling around in your head, and a machine that is hard to control is an extra liability. I would limit the first machine to something no larger than say, 650cc, and I would suggest a used bike rather than a new one. I would avoid bikes with peaky power bands or ergonomics that force a race posture. And I would suggest against a heavy cruiser with feet-forward ergonomics. My choice for a newbie would be a Suzuki 400cc "SM" single or a used SV650.
 
Remember that a bike has a different style of protection than a car. On a bike, you wear the protective shell. So, shop for riding gear before you buy the bike, and get some good gear right away. Then you can buy a bike with what's left over, one reason for a used machine.

Q: Expound on physical skills vs. mental skills needed for riding.
 
A:  At first, you may be intimidated by all the physical skills, such as shifting, braking, countersteering, balancing and so forth. When those physical skills start to become habits, many riders assume they are now skilled. But the mental skills of observing traffic and surface hazards, executing corners, trip planning, etc. are a much bigger and higher plateau. That's one important purpose for books on riding skills, since you can pick up a lot of the mental tactics by reading.

Stay tuned...more David Hough wisdom to come!

More words of wisdom from David Hough:
Q:  What can we do as a community to make motorcycle safety a wide-spread phenomenon not just among riders but among drivers as well; short of forcing evey driver to ride a motorcycle for a month just to see what its like.
In UK they have billboards alerting drivers to the presence of motorcycles on the road. I believe I've even seen the actual traffic sings; I've never seen a traffic sign in US that alerts drivers to the presence of motorcycles. Can something like this be done.
 
A:  The common assumption among motorcyclists is that all those "cage" drivers are stupid and blind, and out to get us. We get that from the famous Hurt Report of 1981, where three-quarters of all "motorcycle" crashes in the Los Angeles area were crashes with cars, and most of those crashes were the fault of the car driver. That's no longer true. Today about half of motorcycle crashes are collisioins, and half of those are the fault of the motorcyclist, not the driver.
 
We also have more knowledge about the psychology of how people see things, although motorcyclists in general haven't been paying much attention to the psych researchers. In a nutshell, people who don't see a motorcycle probably won't see a motorcycle sign. if you want to avoid collisions, ride like you were invisible. Or, to put this another way, take responsibility for whatever happens. Pay attention to the situation, and don't let yourself get taken out by a driver who is drunk, aggressive, or talking on the phone. Controlling the bike is only half of the equation. The other half is controlling the situation.
 
Unfortunately, that's one of our problems with current training: the emphasis is on physical control skills rather than mental skills.


Q:  Since you helped create MSF curriculum, do you feel that its getting watered down.  (submitted by Bob S., Saratoga,CA)
 
A:  It's true that I had some involvement in MSF curricula, but the situation was much different back in the formative years of the MSF. The staff was much more open to discussing things with experienced riders and journalists. And we could have good dialogue because most of the staff members were experienced and often skillful riders. Whenever I found myself in the Irvine, CA area, I would stop by the offices, visit with one or more staffers, and usually be invited to ride to lunch. We would share our knowledge freely with the MSF, knowing that we were helping them to help motorcyclists.
 
For instance, we had ah, "juiced up" a BBP course in the Seattle area. When the MSF curriculum manager found out, she called the safety coordinator and asked if this were true. "Yes", he responded, "Do you want us to stop?" "No," she said. "Keep on doing it, but write it down for us." As it happened, they sent up a staffer to audit what we were doing, and many of our ideas turned up in the Experienced RiderCourse.
 
Since then, the MSF has become like an ingrown toenail, unwilling and unable to have dialogue with others who might have something to offer, and increasingly depending upon the limited motorcycling expertise of the staff. Like any of us, they write about what they know--which at this time is more about instructional design, and less about motorcycling. So, the new MSF courses are much slimmer and more "touchy-feely" than the old courses. Some have called this "dumbing down" because the courses seem to be getting easier and easier to pass.
 
I'm not outraged that the courses are slimmer and easier to pass. But I'm sad and frustrated that the national organization whose job it is to come up with solutions to reduce the carnage is neither accomplishing that task, nor talking openly to the motorcyclists--the "subject matter experts" who would be quite willing to volunteer their knowledge on behalf of the nation's motorcyclists.
 
Q:  I think what I would most want to know would be how bikers are able to ride for so far and for so long without having saved up much money beforehand."  (Submitted by Beau G, Seattle, WA)

A:  I have a much different style of travel than some of the really long distance guys, such as Greg Frazier. Greg travels as economically as possible, riding a secondhand nondescript machine and often camping out. I travel less often, but when I go I prefer to travel at a more comfortable level, sleeping on cushy beds, and having nice meals. But I'm also a bit frugal. For instance, in Europe and the UK, there are thousands of "Bed and Breakfast" places--essentially the spare bedroom made available when the kids left home. They are comfy, but cost less than the typical US motel.

More from our series of words of wisdom from David Hough:

Q: If you could do it over what mistakes would you avoid. Not limited to motorcycling or divide it into motorcycle world, book world and life.
Brian P./35/M/SanFrancisco,CA
 
A:  The biggest mistakes I have made involve opening my mouth when I should have kept quiet. I tend to just say what's on my mind, and sometimes that creates problems. For instance, in a recent interview for BMW Owners News, I mentioned that "motorcycle safety" is an oxymoron, like "military intelligence." That really upset a BMW rider who is in the military. I apologized, but the damage was done.
 
I don't think it's possible to say things spontaneously on the national stage, and not anger someone. One lesson is to avoid passing judgment on other people, or passing along rumors. Have you noticed how President Obama looks left and right, but never straight at the camera? That's because he's reading from the teleprompters at each side of the podium. He doesn't dare miss a comma, or add anything spontaneous, because his speech is written out very carefully, and he must not deviate from it.
 
Q:  Tell us about Coffee with Dave and where can we catch it next?
 
A:  I borrowed the idea from Fred Rau, who started his "coffee with Fred" sessions at the Americade years ago. I arrange for coffee, donuts, and bananas, in a seminar environment. Anyone can ask whatever questions come to mind, within certain rules. Sometimes it's a gab fest, soetimes it turns into a serious skills discussion. And often I'll invite some guest to talk about riding across Russia or doing the Paris-Dakar rally. The next official "Coffee with Dave" will be at the BMWMOA International rally in Redmond, Oregon, July 15 - 18, 2010. For details, go to bmwmoa.org and find "rally."
 
Q:  Tell us about the lessons you've learned while teaching. Also, tell us about your favorite and most effective way to share information with a thirsty mind.
 
A:  One big lesson about teaching is that the teacher always learns more than the student. You may know something very well, but trying to teach it to someone else is a different kettle of fish. As you try to figure out how to explain it, you may discover things you didn't realize, or learn how to approach someone with information so that they can absorb it.
 
I've also learned that it's a waste of time to attempt teaching something with which you aren't experienced. Specifically, a motorcycle instructor needs to be a veteran motorcyclist as well as a teacher. I remember an event years ago when I was auditing a class of high school shop teachers who were being trained to be motorcycle instructors. One instructor in training gave the command, "OK, start your bicycles." He apparently didn't realize that his credibility had instantly gone down the drain.

Q:  From a global organizational perspective, what improvements would you suggest for organizations like MSF.
 
A:  I have offered suggestions to organizations including that one in Irvine, California, and even written articles about this in national magazines. But I've learned that offering suggestions to those Irvine folks has about the same result as peeing into a hurricane. When we are seeing an increase in motorcyclist fatalities, it's obvious to me that we need more serious training courses that would address the issues we see in the statistics, region-by-region.
 
There are a number of motorcycle enthusiasts in the USA who have considerable experience in both motorcycling and training, and would be very willing to share their skill and knowledge with a national organization. But that would require that the organization in question understands that it really needs more subject knowledge. And it would also require that the organization overcome their preternatural drive to dominanate training. It's like an alcoholic; you can't help until he asks for help.
 
I might offer some advice to the motorcycle industry. It's your bucks being spent. Refocus the safety organization on educating riders to avoid crashes. Tie financial support to results. If the training reduces crashes and fatalities, OK the safety guys get their money. If not, yoiu might as well cut off the funds. And if your primary goal is to sell more bikes, put your money into marketing, and leave training foundations to do...training.

We continue with more words of wisdom from David Hough:

Q: Tell us about the time you broke down in the middle of nowhere.
 
A:  I've had several mechanical breakdowns. The one I remember was when my wife and I were on our Moto Guzzi sidecar rig, heading over a 3,500 foot pass and the left exhaust valve burned. I limped up the pass until I found a telephone booth. (this was before cell phones, you understand?) I called the parts man at my dealer, who promised to get some valves and a head gasket shipped to the next town. We limped on at half power, found a motel, and the next day retrieved the parts. I found a junk yard next to a machine shop, disassembled the head, and had them fit the new valves. We were back underway about two hours later.

Q:  Tell us little bit about your writing process.
 
A:  Most of what I write is based on experience, either observing something, or watching some other rider. I think a lot about some subject while riding, and then try to remember it for later. I prefer to ride more in the summertime, which means I do most of my writing in the winter. To support my writing, I try to take photos during my summer trips. One of my specialties is surface hazards, so I'm happy to come upon a nasty edge trap, pothole, railroad crossing, or confusing sign.
 
If I need some statistics, I can spend a few hours researching on the Internet.
 
I write on a PC, in Word. If an article just isn't jelling, I may print it out and cut and paste with scissors and tape, until it starts to look more organized. Over the years I've gradually gained the skill of editing entirely on the computer, moving big blocks of text around.
 
When I have the text roughed in, I pull up two screens, one for Word, and the other for Photoshop. I look for suitable photos or illustrations that depict what I've discussed in the text, and then add the file number references and captions in the text. I'll go through the article this way, text and graphics side by side, until I'm satisfied with the results. When I need additional illustrations, I'll make a list, close Word, and do the necessary illustrations in Photoshop, then open Word again and fit them in.
 
When I think the article is ready, I'll save everything to a folder, then burn it on a CD to mail to the magazine or site. Sometimes I'll generate a series of articles and burn them all at the same time. 
Q:  How did you get into trike and trike training.
 
A:  Trike training was an add-on to sidecar training. I had been into sidecars for many years, but hadn't had a trike. I wrote a book, Driving A Sidecar Outfit, and sidecar pilots demanded a training course. I wrote the course for the Sidecar Safety Program, developed an instructor guide, trained some instructors and chief instructors, and tried to run a national program out of my office, part time. Fortunately, the Evergreen Safety Council rescued me by taking over administration of the program. And because there aren't enough sidecarists around, they included trikes and called it the Sidecar/Trike Education Program.
 
Then, in 2009, I decided to buy a Can Am Spyder, a trike with the two-in-front configuration. So, now I have a trike, a sidecar rig, and a two-wheeler in the garage.

Q: What drew him to this endeavor?  How do you see your accomplishments?  How have these efforst influenced the rest of your life and what sort of legacy do you plan to leave, want to leave, think you will leave?  (submitted by Ran B., Wilmington, DE)
 
A:  I think most of the serious riders who are spending their time on motorcycle safety are reluctant volunteers. We'd just as soon be out riding, but we recognize the need, and we're suckers for saying "OK". Of course, once you get involved--as a club safety coordinator, or an instructor, or the administrator of a training site, you get the constant feedback of seeing riders gain skill, or coming back to you and saying: "Do you remember me? I was in your class back in 1986. You've probably saved my life three or four times." That encourages you to say "yes" to teaching a class next weekend, knowing you'll have to cancel your planned ride. And it keeps encouraging you to maintain your certification and stay involved.
 
I know more than a few motorcycle enthusiasts who have spent much of their lives teaching and writing. I don't think any of us thought about leaving a legacy, other than seeing motorcyclists get more skilled and smarter in the future. Of course, many of us get burned out, or get discouraged by heavy-handed administration, or simply don't have the physical energy any more.
 
I remember the last class I taught. I had gotten up at about 5am to get to the training site, set everything up, taught the classroom, coached the range exercises, signed the completion cards, and filled out the paperwork. Then I had to pick up the cones, put everything away in a container, find dinner somewhere, and make the 3-hour commute home again. I was so dog-tired I stumbled on the stairs and fell on my helmet.

Q:   What are some of the formative experiences and training that led to you giving so much to the safety field?  (submitted by Bob S., Saratoga, CA)

A:  I happen to have a good mind for graphics, so when I started writing motorcycle skills articles, I had some skill in producing graphics that would communicate what was needed. I spent 36 years at the Boeing Company, mostly developing graphics for engineering and training organizations. So I've had the advantage of learning a bit about how pilots are trained, and I've realized that driving airplanes and driving motorcycles have a lot in common. I don't know where the drive comes from. I just write one more article, and deliver one more seminar, and the list gets longer and longer.
 
Q: What is the tallest thing you've jumped over while riding a motorcycle?
(submitted by Krishna V., Seattle, WA)
 
A:  That would probably be my ego. OK, I'm not into jumping motorcycles, but I did drive my dual sport sidecar rig in the Los Angeles-Barsto-Las Vegas desert ride one year. We were making good time across an angled plateau heading into Las Vegas, when I realized there was a dry wash ahead. There was no time to slow down, so we flew off the edge into the wash, plowed straight across, and slammed into the other side. The leading link compressed so far I heard the knobby tire zzzing on the underside of the fender, and then we were launched. I suppose we flew all three wheels in the air for 40 feet or so. Sorry, I don't think the jump was higher than 3 or 4 feet, but I sure remember it.

Stay tuned for more wisdom from David Hough!

More words of wisdom from David Hough:

Q:  Tell us what you think about the economy of riding a motorcycle year-round (weather permitting)
Bikes emit less pollution into the atmosphere, what about the green aspect of biking. (submitted by Ivan W., Long Beach, CA)
 
A:  I always get a chuckle out of having some obvious non-rider come up for a chat, and the very first question is, "how many miles per gallon does it get?" That's sort of an American perspective, that people ride motorcycles to save money. Mile per mile, I suspect that a mid-sized motorcycle costs about the same as a compact car. My wife's $17,000 Toyota Corrola gets an honest 34 miles per gallon, can carry four people in comfort, and none need to wear expensive helmets or riding gear. I expect the tires to last for at least 40,000 miles, and I never expect to have to repack the transmission splines or change the driveshaft. An individual motorcycle pollutes about the same as an individual car, we're only "green" because there are fewer bikes than cars. The primary reason to commute on a bike is getting through slow moving traffic. And only one state doesn't prohibit lane sharing, so that takes away the big advantage. It's not that I dislike motorcycles, but let's be honest about the situation.
 
Q:  What kind of organizational politics (MSF and others) are preventing us from having a better, safer riders out there?
Has anyone ever entertained a though of creating a bike lane on the highway. Is there a precedent?

A:  Discussing the politics of motorcycle safety is a risky business, because big money is at stake. Ever since the late 1970s, the major motorcycle manufacturers have put between 5 and 8 million dollars each year into a foundation. Unfortunately, the foundation has has been given multiple and sometimes conflicting tasks. The first task is to show the government that the industry is doing something about the problem of too many motorcycle crashes and fatalities. The second task is to provide beginner rider training that's as cheap and simple as possible. The third task is to sell more motorcycles. Back in the good old days we thought the industry-funded foundation was set up to help riders get smarter and more skilled. Eventually we realized that the foundation was limited by the conflicting priorities. For instance, if your priority is to get a newly-trained rider to buy a new bike, you don't want to see him or her fail the tests. So, you make the exercises simple and friendly, and the tests easy to pass. You know he's not ready for the street, but he needs a completion card to get his endorsement--so he's ready and motivated to buy a bike.
 
This won't change until each state takes full responsibility for it's rider training, meaning it must tell any national industry-financed foundations to stay out of the way. The training courses need to be developed to answer the specific needs of that state, based on real-world crash statistics. What might change the marginal situation we now have, is a movement by motorcycle enthusiasts to regain control of their own state programs, and kick out the industry lobbyists and lawyers. Two states have done that so far, Oregon and Idaho. But other states are paralyzed by the political clout of struggling dealerships who need to sell more bikes NOW.
 
More to come from David Hough....stay tuned!!

More words of wisdom from David Hough!

 Q:  Can you comment on the documentary "On Any Sunday"?  (question submitted by Paul B., San Diego, CA)
 
A:  On Any Sunday was a very interesting film, because it painted a wide-angle portrait of motorcycling, not a narrow focus. Of course, it was a rosey picture of everyone having fun. It didn't include the realities of serious crash injuries and fatalities.

Q: What are your comments about the perception that street riding is somehow inherently more dangerous with little or no regard given to the alertness/awareness of the rider. How can that perception be changed?
 
A:  I think the general public has a better perception of the danger of motorcycling than many riders have. Motorcycling is similar to flying airplanes. You can't do much to prevent injuries once a crash is set in motion. So, you have to put your energies into avoiding crashes. And that means developing some sharp skills, especially mental skills such as looking ahead and knowing what hazards look like.
 
When I see riders who appear to have no concern about the risks, I'd like to be able to wake them up with a dose of reality. In 2007, more than 5,000 riders died in motorcycle crashes, and maybe another 30,000 were injured severely enough to require hospitalization. I'm not talking about tipping over at a stop sign here, but really nasty crashes where riders spent time in the operating room getting stitched stapled and screwed back together.
 
One of my major concerns is that way too many motorcyclists don't appreciate how much skill and knowledge it takes to survive the ride.
 
Q:  What is your perspective on how the burden of safety can be shifted from vehicle to driver as it is clearly shifted as far to the vehicle side as possible in the interest of profits over safety. Do you feel motorcycle (and car) manufacturers have any responsibility in this matter? Do you think we will see a change in the way American's think about motorcycles from a purely recreational 'toy' vehicle to a viable, efficient means of travel? Do you think any efforts to accommodate motorcycles on streets and highways will ever be made?
 
A:  In the United States we have allowed a situation to develop where motorcycle manufacturers are building and selling what are essentially race bikes with lights and horns. How can we possibly expect that a testosterone-poisoned 20-year-old can control a bike with 170 or 180 horsepower, on roads that were engineered for maybe 55 or 60 mph? And how can rider training possibly affect the outcome when skills are practiced in parking lots at 30 or 35 mph?
 
If riders in the United States, especially riders of high performance machines, were more serious about the risks, and sought out advanced training like that in other countries, it wouldnt be as much of a problem. But it appears to me that way too many riders treat motorcycling as a recreational pursuit, like playing golf or basketball. Andy Goldfine, the boss at Aerostich, has been attempting to promote the "Ride To Work" day for a numbe of years, but the vast majority of motorcyclists treat their machines as toys rather than serious transportation, and I think the general public picks up on this. I wish Andy well, but I don't think this is going to change in the forseeable future.

Stay tuned for more words of wisdom from David Hough!


 

In preparation for our interview with David Hough, the author of the Proficient Motorcycling books, we sent David some questions to consider.  His answers helped us format the interview.  We thought we would share some of his answers here.  We will be releasing more questions answered by David in future blog postings, so stay tuned!

Q:  Since you have clearly influenced many, who was your greatest influence?  (question submitted by Michael A from Vancouver, Canada)

A:  Probably the greatest influence on my writing was Bob Carpenter, the editor of Road Rider magazine back in the 1980s. Bob was a bit of a contrarian in terms of rider training and motorcycle safety conferences, but he was absolutely in favor of skills articles in the magazine, and knew how to give his contributors the "attaboys" to keep us interested.

Q:  What is the dumbest thing you ever did on a bike and why did you do it? (question submitted by Casey B.)
 
A:  I don't think any of us intend to do "dumb" things, but after the event we're suddenly aware that they were dumb. I've pulled my share of dumb stunts over the years, but one that sticks in my mind is attempting to ride a remote California desert road all by myself on a fully loaded BMW R1150 GS. I'd managed about 60 miles when the front tire hooked on a sand berm and the bike went rocketing out into the desert, smashing through the brittlebush.When I awoke gasping for breath, I realized that making the decision to turn onto this road wasn't too clever.

Q:  What motivated you to enter their field, if there were any turning points, and who do you turn to for inspiration.  (Submitted by Tiara S., Brisbane, Australia)
 
A:  I seem to have a deep curiosity about how things work. And when I took up riding in 1965 I realized there wasn't much information available on motorcycle skills. So I started collecting everything I could find. And later I began sharing my discoveries--which led to generating some articles of my own for Road Rider Magazine. In retrospect, my first attempts were pitiful, but you have to start somewhere.

Come back to check for more questions answered by David Hough!