Motorcycle Nation Podcast

The popular Rider’s Edge® (RE) motorcycle safety program offered by the Motor Company® has been at the heart of many discussions lately after it was announced that Buell production would end. The big question that has popped up is what is the future of RE without the use of the Buell Blast?

I have long thought that the Blast was a less than suitable training motorcycle. This is my opinion only, although if you asked the question to many of my colleagues you would get that same answer. There are two main reasons that I feel this way. The first lies in the single cylinder 492cc powerplant. This is too much power to put in the hands of a beginner who does not have the concept of throttle control and friction zone yet. The first reaction that a novice has when a motorcycle gets away from them is to apply a death grip to the handle bars. As we all know, in our right hand is the throttle which a death grip tends to roll on causing even more power transfer. This spells a bad day. A 125cc or 250cc motorcycle, while definitely still dangerous, is much less forgiving in the same situation.

The second reason I do not agree with the Blast as a trainer lies in the brakes. This motorcycle was produced, as best I can tell, with an entry level sportbike rider in mind. It is small because its secondary target market is made up of females. Again, my opinion. Because it is directed at the sport bike crowd it has extremely aggressive brakes. No other motorcycle class on the market can compare with the brakes on sportbikes. Low motorcycle weight paired with excellent brakes make sportbikes some of the quickest stopping bikes on the market. New riders tend to “attack” the brakes instead of reaching and squeezing the front brake lever. They also tend to stomp on the rear brake pedal instead of applying steady, even pressure. Doing either one of these can cause serious consequences, many times reason one. Panic hits, the deathgrip is applied, and we are in trouble again.

Those are my reasons. Now, back to the original question. With the demise of Buell, what will the future training bike of Rider’s Edge be? I discussed this with a RE provider and the answer I got is this. The government requires that manufacturers who cease production on a product continue to provide repair parts for a period of seven years. The RE program was also granted permission to use used motorcycles that they take in on trade provided they fully inspect them. This was prohibited in the original rules of the program. So, RE will continue to use Buell Blasts in the near future. The most surprising piece of information that I was able to get was that the Motor Company® has told the providers that they will have a new training unit available within five years. Whether this means that HD themselves will build it or that they will contract it out remains to be answered. Whatever route they take, I hope that they address the two problems that I have noted here for the sake of their students.

Ride Safe

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Fall is a beautiful time of year to ride and one of my favorites. The air is crisp and cool and the colors are changing making for an all new experience on roads you travel every day. It is much like spring when the green begins to return to the grass and trees and it makes me feel alive again. After many months of leafless trees and gray skies color returns to the landscape and enhances the riding experience.

Speaking of leafless trees, fall brings us a special hazard. The season tends to be wet and the trees begin to shed their leaves after their beautiful change of color. As leaves fall to the ground and are saturated with the rain or dew, they become a great danger to a motorcyclist. Leaves on the road, once wet, become like a sheet of ice. Some motorcyclists that live in certain areas of the country have never had to experience this but we should all know what to do if we find ourself rounding a curve and see leaves covering the ground.

The way to handle this is the same way to handle almost any potential hazard that could be slick. First off, try to slow before reaching the hazard. Your speed should be slow enough that you can reduce or eliminate any lean angle required to continue on the path of travel. If going in a straight line all you need to do is scrub off some speed of course as you will not require lean angle anyway. Now that you have slowed and you are using very little or no lean angle, you should squeeze in your clutch and coast across the leaves. With the rear wheel not under power you have less of a chance of the wheel sliding out from under you. Once you have safely made it across the leaves ease the clutch out through the friction zone until you are back under full power. You don’t want to be quick on the clutch release as you do not know how much of that goo transferred to your tire. When the clutch is fully out, pick up your speed slowly and enjoy the rest of the ride.

Everybody ride safe out there and don’t forget that this is a good time of the year to experience deer and other animals. Keep your eyes open and Search, Evaluate, and Execute.

Steve

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In this episode we discuss some quick news. We mention the Vegas Bikefest and let you know that Jay Leno is auctioning off his 200hp V-Max to help a friend. We joke about Sen. Lautenberg from NJ helping to push a helmet law in Uganda (purely a joke). Motorcycle sales are down and we let you know just how bad the outlook is and we mention a study by the Freedonia Group that says that internationally, motorcycle sales are expected to rise 8% per year over the next 5 years.

The return of Casey Stoner to MotoGP this weekend and the trade off from World Superbike to MotoGP and vice versa of James Toseland and Ben Spies is mentioned as well. The majority of this episode involves the alarming trend over the past years of returning war vets losing their lives on motorcycles and what the Department of Defense has done in an attempt to stop these tragedies.

We close it out by mentioning friend of the show Adrian Blake, creator of the motorcycle show Ride! over on BlogTalkRadio. I urge you to go give Adrian a listen at Ride! Finally we close out the show by mentioning some interviews that we have in the works. Dwayne from Cycle Outfitters here in Indy will be joining us soon to talk about cold weather riding gear. Dwain DeVille, author of “The Biker’s Guide to Business” will promote the book on the Motorcycle Nation Podcast. This is a unique look at the world of business through the eyes of a biker. And we are in the process of setting up an interview with Jensen Beeler, Editor-in-Chief of Asphalt and Rubber, a website providing the latest motorcycle industry and racing news to the web. You won’t want to miss anything that is coming up!

Finally, we send you out with the song Ride by Adrenaline Factor. You can find this song and additional band information at MusicAlley.

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We watch magicians on TV make things disappear all the time. And the illusionists amaze the masses by making things appear invisible. They both are well paid for doing this yet there is a group in this world that is able to do the same thing without making a dime and achieve the same results without even trying or wanting to. That group is called motorcyclists.

That is right. You, me, your spouse, your neighbor we are all invisible. Some people seem to have a problem picking up on a motorcycle traveling down the road. I find it hard to believe that someone can not see me, all 245 pounds of me, on a 650 pound motorcycle with a bright headlight traveling towards the intersection that they are getting ready to enter right in front of me forcing me to take evasive actions. Yet no less than three times the past two weeks I have found myself in this situation. I guess I am invisible. Are you?

This is just a reminder to you that you should make sure you perform your pre ride checks. wear bright colored and reflective clothing, and pay attention to the cars on the road. Taking all the precautions does not insure your safety though. After all, once you get past the texters, talkers, and make up artists you still have the blind drivers that make you invisible.

Ride Safe

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Riding with Gov. Mitch Daniels.
Motor Company moving manufacturing to Indiana?
Competition Accessories leaving Ohio for SC.
Billy Lane is sentenced.
MotoGP in Indy this weekend
Other news and recalls.

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Indiana motorcyclists are proud to have a Governor that not only rides a motorcycle, but is willing to get out and ride with the citizens of Indiana. Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels leads a few rides a year that travel the state making stops in small towns all over. The most recent ride, August 14th, was on a beautiful day and surprised many of the first time riders with the route snaking us through some Southern Indiana backroads that had enough curves you would have thought you were on the Tail of the Dragon at times. The best part was that this ride was escorted start to finish by the Indiana State Police Motorcycle Unit. Thank you Gents!

Indiana State Police Electra Glides provided escort.

Whoever ordered the weather up for this ride did well but could have turned the temperature dial back about 10 degrees. I am not sure how many miles were covered as I left after the second stop so I could get back to Indy in time to see the Colts preseason game. The two stops that I did make were Milan and Madison. Milan is famous for their 1954 winning of the state high school basketball championship. The small town team beat the largest high school powerhouses that year and was the team behind the movie Hoosiers. The second stop that I made was in Madison, a really neat town on the Ohio River that looks across into Kentucky. This town also has a famous side as it is the host of the Madison Regatta, a hydroplane racing event held annually on the river.

Ohio River at Madison, IN

Riding with the Governor is free and we had over 400 waivers signed for the ride. If you are in the Hoosier state I encourage you to come out next time and ride with us. No matter what your political party of choice is, it is encouraging to have a rider in charge. The motorcycle rides that the Governor puts on are about motorcycle awareness and when a reporter questioned him on Friday about helmets he made a great statement. He told them that he chooses to always wear a helmet but that education, not mandatory helmet laws is what will save lives. Way to go Governor!

Staging at the State Capitol building.

On August 5th, Jay Jackson, Executive Director of ABATE of Indiana and Vice President of the Motorcycle Riders Foundation (MRF), was inducted into the Sturgis Motorcycle Museum and Hall of Fame at a breakfast in Rapid City, SD during the annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. Jay’s inclusion into the Hall of Fame is due to his lifelong commitment to fighting for the rights of motorcyclists all over the nation.

Jay Jackson, third from right, with attendees from Indiana and Ohio.

Besides his duties as the Executive Director of the largest State Motorcycle Rights Organization (SMRO) in the nation and his recent acceptance of the VP position with the MRF, Jay is often asked to speak at hearings and committee meetings in Washington, DC concerning motorcycle safety. ABATE of Indiana is proud of his accomplishments and congratulates him on his award. I am proud to work for and with him.

Blogging about critters in the last post brought back other memories of 2004 and my collision with the deer. It does not matter what causes your accident or object you might connect with there is always a lingering question on your mind. Like I said, my wreck happened in September of 2004. My injuries were minimal for the wreck that I had but still involved a long recovery period. My injuries consisted of road rash of course, a broken left ankle, and lacerated spleen. The ankle took about three months to heal up well which put me right in the heart of the Indiana winter. I am not sure if the timing of the accident was good or bad but I do know one thing. It gave me way too much time to think.

People tell their kids all the time, and I am guilty as well, that if they fall off their bicycle they need to jump right back on and keep going. Well, let me tell you, that is easier to say to your kid than it is to convince yourself of the same thing. I spent the winter and early Spring of ‘05 wondering if I had the guts to get back on the bike. So many doubts flowed through my head during this time. I spent many hours contemplating if I would be scared once I got back on. Could I get past the fear of the return and be totally comfortable on the road again? Or, would I have such a fear of going down again that I could not safely handle a motorcycle again? One thing that I tell my students is that they can never fear a motorcycle. They must respect it, but they can not fear it. Was I facing the same possibilities that my students faced? Yes I was.

My fears came from many different directions. The fear of going down again was a strong one. Then there was the thought of should I be riding if I have kids and a family? Or, will my injuries heal well enough that I could ride? The first hurdle was the question over riding while I still have a family. That hurdle was crossed fairly easy. People die after being hit by a softball or being shot while being in the wrong place at the right time. Any minute of any day doing any activity brings the possibility of accidental death so I could not see giving up something that I loved for a possibility. So, on to the harder to conquer fears. The fears that could only be answered by throwing the leg over the saddle and pointing the motorcycle down the road, kicking it in gear, and making it go.

I bought the items that were a must to rebuild the bike. As a sidenote, slight mechanical ability can save you a ton of money. The estimate provided by a local HD dealer to fix my bike was $4500. I bought the parts and repaired and replaced the bars, fork tubes, lowers, gear shift lever, and some left side chrome for less than $500. It did not get body work and paint until 2 years later. Anyway, after the repairs were done there was only one thing to do. This was the moment of truth. I can tell you that when I raised the bike off the side stand my hands were sweating and I had a knot in my stomach. I thumbed the start button and the V-Twin roared to life. The sound was like music to my ears. It had been such a long time. Now was the real test. I squeezed the clutch and pressed down on the shift lever and eased out the clutch. I rolled out of my cousins garage and made my way up his short driveway to the road, never having to leave first gear. So far so good. My next challenge was shifting as I was still in rehab and my left ankle was not strong enough yet to pull up on the shift lever without pain. So, I ventured out on the road and hung my leg over the top of the lever and pulled back and shifted. With the pull of each gear I gained a little more confidence and felt my love of the wind coming back. I finished the short shake down run and returned to the garage to clean up before taking her home and parking her.

I was excited about my ride to work the next day. I left the house with total confidence and made my way down the state road that leads me east to the plant. The next huge hurdle had to be conquered, riding right through the same area where the accident happened. If you have never heard of the butt puckering experience I have to tell you right now that it is real. I got to the stretch of road where I went down and I slowed way down, every muscle tensed, sweat formed on my brow, and I scanned aggressively. I made it through! There was no question now that I still had the love for the sport and the desire to ride. Fear did not stop me although I can see why some people call it quits after having a motorcycle accident. I raise my hat to all of us who have been down and jumped back on. But I also raise my hat to those who decided that the risk of going down again was enough to make them stop riding.

Have you had that fear of returning? Let us know your experience via comments, whether you still ride or not.

Some critters we encounter on pretty much every ride. That would be the birds and the bugs. From listening to the motorcycle riders that I follow on Twitter there are places in the US that your bike will be covered in bugs after even a mid day ride. Hope you all have windshields for that one. Other critters, domesticated and wild, only show themselves to us occasionally. This list includes the dogs, cats, raccoons, possums, and many others. Some states have the occasional bear or longhorn steer to contend with but in Indiana the most feared is the deer.

I hit a deer in September of 2004 on my Softail. I popped around a downhill blind curve and started down a short straight stretch and it was as if someone dropped him at the side of the road. I had little time to react so I applied max braking and scrubbed off some speed before seeing the inevitable. I dropped my left shoulder and went for the ride. I can still hear the sound of my helmet grinding down the asphalt. Whew, what a ride. More on that at a later date maybe. The funny thing that non motorcyclists asked me was, “Why didn’t you swerve?” well Sherlock, tell me which way he was going to go! How many times have you seen a deer decide to wheel around and run the opposite direction? I could not predict anything in that short period of time.

Anyway, back to the other critters. I have encountered a critter in the past weeks that I have never encountered before while on my motorcycle. It started with the Michigan road trip and I saw another yesterday on my way to lunch. I am talking about turtles. On the Michigan ride we saw about five turtles and then the one yesterday made it six for me. I am a little surprised to be honest with you. Anyone been noticing a rash of turtles on your rides? Anyone know someone who has hit one?

What is the feared critter in your neck of the woods? Leave some feedback. All I can say is thank goodness I don’t live in alligator country! I will take the deer any day.

Ride Safe and watch out for those critters!