That is one of the questions in my mind each and every time I hear about another motorcycle fatality. Very often the next question that I would like answered is “Was the rider professionally trained or self taught?” “What was the rider’s experience level?” “What actions could have prevented this tragedy?” I believe that there is a quick fix to all single vehicle accidents, motorcycle or automobile. Training and responsibility.

Have you taken the motorcycle safety course? Do a quick search online and find your nearest safety program and get signed up today. Do yourself and those that love you a favor and live to ride another day as my friend Tom Lowdermilk from SideStand Up would say.

Let’s start off with the air quality factor. Yes, the fossil fuel motorcycles do still emit carbon emissions but in much smaller quantities than all the other cars, trucks, buses, and trains that clog our route to work every day. Want it to be even cleaner? Buy an electric motorcycle. Speaking of those other vehicles clogging the roadway, imagine all the advantages of the majority of vehicles on your morning commute being two or three wheelers. Less congestion equals less frustration. The added benefit is less wear and tear on the infrastructure. How many of you have to fight to find parking on busy city streets or in loaded parking garages? Yet another reason to ride a bike.

Also, think about the money that could be saved in gas. Most motorcycles get considerably better gas mileage than their four wheel counterparts. Who doesn’t want to save a few bucks? Less consumption in whole means lower gas prices as well. That great law of economics says prices will fall if demand dwindles. Take that OPEC!

OK, let’s stop and admit that there are many people who could care less about any of the environmental impacts that are discussed above. If you fall into that category, then think about this. You ARE saving money and you get to pick the bugs out of your teeth!

Enjoy your ride to work tomorrow and make it a safe one.

We also bring a little MotoGP news and provide you a link on how to get your chance to ride with the big boys in World Superbikes and World Supersport at Utah’s Miller Motorsports Park in Utah. There are wildcard spots to be filled if you feel like you have what it takes to get off the porch and compete. You can find out the requirements and fill out an application by clicking right here. In addition, we give information on an upcoming endurance ride, The HokaHey Challenge, that you can join. It is a run from Key West, FL to Homer, AK and covers some 7,000 miles.

Our final story comes from the UK and involves alcohol and riding. You gotta listen to this one.

As promised the interesting video on how sound checks are done on motorcycles courtesy of YouTube.

There may be trouble in Milwaukee Paradise but there is still plenty of true paradise in the Dominican Republic. Call my friends at MotoCaribe Motorcycle Tours and book your trip to fun in the sun the two wheel way. 800-877-MOTOFUN ext. 100

We have exciing interviews coming up with the creators of some unique products aimed at the motorcycling community and based on riders. Make sure you come back soon and check us out. Subscribe to the podcast at iTunes or the Zune store or just listen right here on the website. Show recommendations are always welcome at Steve@mcnationpodcast.com

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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

Riding in the cold is just as enjoyable as riding in the warm weather if you have the right gear. I have accumulated some nice cold weather gear over the years and can stay pretty toasty. With the purchase a few years ago of a Cortech Advantage riding jacket I was able to get rid of my Widder heated vest. I let the gloves go with it and bought new Tourmaster Synergy electric gloves. So, I do still stay warm.

But, I still hate cold weather. I know, if you don’t like it move. Wish it was that easy. Since I have to put up with this for the time being, I think that next year we should hire a groundhog sharpshooter and pop that thing between the eyes before he can see his shadow. Ooops. I hope that none of my readers are members of PETA. Let me rephrase that. I don’t want anyone to shoot a poor defenseless animal. So, maybe the rotten varmint can become roadkill next February and we can all be sipping tea in the sun on one of our stops along the ride.

Until then, don’t put that cold weather gear away just yet. Happy riding…brrrrrrr…..

Seriously, the legislators know that once a year they will hear from a group of riders that are passionate about maintaining their rights, both as motorcyclists and citizens. They know quite a few by name as our members stay in contact with their individual legislator throughout the year. We have been called the greatest, most powerful grass roots lobby organization in the State. We have had many victories over the years. From the repeal of the discriminatory add on motorcycle registration fee that called upon two wheel enthusiasts only to aid in funding spinal cord injury research to beating the many attempts to force mandatory helmet usage upon us.

We have accomplished this with dedication to the cause at hand. There is truth in the saying strength in numbers. There are people willing to spend a day at the Statehouse for the right to stand up and be heard. This is not only needed for motorcyclists. It is needed for all citizens. Assaults on our rights don’t only come from our states, they come from our federal government as well. We are being slammed in Washington right now and we need to stand up and be heard there as well.

On two levels I urge you to get involved. As a motorcyclist, join your state motorcyclist rights organization. Also join the AMA and / or the MRF. Just because you don’t live in DC and can’t lobby in person does not mean your voice can’t be heard. That is what the AMA and MRF are all about. They maintain a daily presence inside the beltway on our behalf. As a citizen, write and call your legislator on issues that you want heard. We put them there and they are supposed to work for us. We need to do our best to keep them honest and sitting back watching TV and complaining is not the answer. Keep them on their toes and let them know that you expect them to do the job you hired them to do. We need to take America back!

STAND UP AND BE HEARD MOTORCYCLE NATION

We always try to promote using your local shop to help boost the economy but there are times that the deal at the online retailer is so good that we make the decision to purchase it online. Many times you can save hard earned cash by purchasing from the online parts house even if you have to pay shipping. The problem is that you have such a wide variety of shops to choose from in the vast world wide web world that you have no idea who is legit or who is true to their word.

You are sitting back in your chair right now wondering why I am ranting on about this subject aren’t you? Well, I have been listening to the continuing saga of a coworker who ordered a simple part online to save $7. He placed two orders online approximately 55 days ago, one with Bike Bandit and the second with another retailer to be left unnamed at this time. My buddy owns a mid 80’s (I believe) Yamaha Venture and it is hard to locate parts to keep this motorcycle on the road. The part he ordered from Bike Bandit was at his door within 4 days. The part he ordered from the anonymous retailer is yet to be delivered even though the website said that it ships within 5 days. After numerous phone calls around the 25 day mark he was told that the part should be shipping in 1 week as it was backordered. It never came. So, he made another phone call last week and had to leave a message with the newly installed automated phone system.

Today, he received a phone call from one who claimed to be the owner saying that he was looking over the orders list and that he noticed this order being so late. He wanted to apologize and said that he had good news. It looked like the ordered part would ship in 4-5 days. My buddy said he wanted to tell the guy, “Excuse me for not getting excited.”, but he just told the guy if it is not here next week he could keep it.

There is nothing worse than having a ride that is down and in this down economy we are all looking for a break on the cost of maintaining our bikes. It is understood that sometimes things happen but two months to get a part that says it ships in 7 days is ridiculous. If you find yourself down make sure to do your homework. Either buy it from the local shop that you can deal with face to face or get on some forums and track down that reputable parts dealer that won’t leave you stranded. If the owner turns out to be stretching the truth then I will reveal the name of his company on the blog as one to avoid. After all, I don’t want anyone in the Motorcycle Nation Podcast family to live with the Bike Repair Blues.

The recalls section is back and we run through them. Or, maybe I should say it. The only recall we have right now is for the BMW f650 GS and the f800 GS. The model years covered are 2008 thru 2010. During operation the a ventilation hose could draw water vapors into the charcoal canister allowing it to mix with the air-fuel mixture and cause the motorcycle to stall. The recall was set to begin this month, January 2010. If you have not heard from BMW you can call them at 800-831-1117.

There are a couple of news stories that are quickly covered so that we are able to jump right into the interview with Jensen. We close out the podcast with music from old friends Eclipse. I just had to hear “Ride Through the Badlands” again.

If you get a chance, review the podcast in iTunes so that we can move farther up the chart. If you would like to help cover the costs of keeping the site on the net and help us cover storage costs and bandwith, we have added a donate button on the right sidebar. Any amount would help from a dollar to whatever you want to give. Anything would be appreciated.

Remember our friends at MotoCaribe Motorcyle Tours. When you are ready to take a trip you can ride paradise on two wheels in the Dominican Republic. Give Ed a call at 877-MOTOFUN ext. 100 or visit the website by clicking their name above.

Until next time…Ride Safe

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Annie Seel completed the stage in sixty third position which places her in the forty-third position overall. The other lady riders, Giannetti (70th overall) and Meier (89th overall) are well out of contention but must be commended on their riding ability and stamina. As of this writing, only 90 bikes have checked in which means the class has lost sixty bikes since leaving Buenos Aires. Anyone still riding must be considered tough.

Stage 8 will commence on Sunday with a run from Antofagast to Copiapo. Tomorrow will be a welcomed rest day for the riders and their equipment as well. We will check back in with the rally Sunday afternoon. See you all back here.

(Picture of Cyril Despres used under Creative Commons from Flikr)

Stage 6 was not without spills as Portugese rider Paulo Goncalves suffered a broken collar bone in a crash at km 195 on the special. Goncalves left Antofagasta as sixth rider. Only 106 motorcycles started the stage this morning, down fifty-four from the original rally start. Injuries and mechanical problems are taking their toll.

We will check back in with the ladies and our other remaining US rider Boinnard during Stage 7.