Editorial
It’s a packed edition of the SAM Club Newsletter this week. Well, Pillion and I have been away riding for 3 weeks. The SAM Club Calendar is very busy in the next few weeks. The Autumn Breakfast Meet is at 9.30am on the 21st October 2023. SAM members are invited to the WYAMs (West Yorkshire Advanced Motorcyclists) event titled ‘Psychology of rider/driver decision making’ on the 26th October 2023. At the next SAM Club Night on the 6th November 2023, Supremecoat Ltd will demonstrate their 7-year protection coating. Booking forms are available on the SAM website. Yes, I did manage to initially screw up the booking forms, but all form submissions, for both the Autumn Breakfast and Supremecoat Ltd talk, are recorded on the website. If you got a ‘server error’, you DON’T have to re-submit the form.
One of our SAM Club members is a bit poorly. Steve Eyres (also known as Big Steve) is on N-floor at the Royal Hallamshire Hospital. He has asked for SAM Club members to visit, so go and cheer him up. Be aware of infection control and visitor numbers. Please check with the ward staff before visiting. We send Steve, along with any other SAM Club members suffering health problems, our very best wishes at such a difficult time.
Biker casualty statistics and the imposition of compulsory 20mph speed limits figures came out this week. They have brought contentious disagreement from bikers on social media. In 2022, 350 bikers were killed and 5,618 seriously injured. In 2021, bikers were 310 killed and 5,264 seriously injured. Every serious injury and death is a tragedy. However, such figures cannot be taken at face value as they say very little about the true nature of the problems bikers face on the road. How many riders were novices? How many riders are Summertime riders? What mileage had these biker casualties done before they came to grief? How many were advanced riders? How many are unlicensed idiots? Lumping all motorcyclists into a single statistic hides the real problems for powered 2-wheel riders in the UK. Politicians, manufacturers associations and road safety campaigners, including IAM RoadSmart, fail to put the figures in context and distort arguments to suit their own public narrative. This often paints motorcycling as almost on a par with extreme sports, doing little to help motorcycling become part of a ‘strategic solution to sustainable, low-carbon transport of the future’.
For the introduction of compulsory 20mph speed limits there are two unreported problems. Whilst reductions in speed limits can reduce accident figures, a definite win. What about increased journey times for businesses, goods and services? Longer journey times may also reduce air quality as internal combustion engines spend longer running at less than optimum speeds. Depending on the type of 20mph solutions used, speed humps, stop signs or roundabouts, some writers argue that any downside risk from small increases in pollution are worth the upside gain of decreased accidents. You decide.
Developments in motorcycle technology may soon make the above discussion academic. Suzuki will roll out a hydrogen-powered Burgman scooter this Autumn. Kawasaki have produced the first hybrid, Ninja 7, with very good performance figures. We can expect the Kawasaki in Europe by mid-2024. Perhaps it’s time to get back to promoting motorcycling as part of ‘a strategic solution to sustainable transport’. Having much lower emissions that other types of ICE vehicles they can certainly help toward a lower carbon economy.
Other stories in this newsletter digest include using drones to capture your riding adventures. What to eat on a riding adventure in Africa. Motorcycle gear for female riders. Helmet standards and buying a flip-front helmet and how to organise your garage. As the pillion keeps threatening to sort my garage out, I’m going to hide that last one!
Our very good friends the Whiteknights have been busy saving the NHS £10,540.16 in September. Although it was mostly blood and COVID samples, premature babies happily fed on 6 deliveries of breast milk. I wonder what costs 16p?
Finally for the history slot we memories of the Ariel Square Four. I remember my uncle riding to work on one in the 1950s. I was so envious to have a bicycle with an engine. Happy reading.
A call for SAM Club Volunteers
With my body slowly falling apart (the brain is working fine!), are there any SAM Club members who would consider volunteering for the following:
- MailChimp: managing the email list and circulating emails to members.
- Google Business Address & phone number: this is the advert that comes up when people search for advanced motorcycling on the Google platform.
- MoreBike newspapers: These are delivered every month and I generally distribute them at a Saturday morning meeting. They used to arrive before the SAM Club Night and were distributed at Treeton. However, the publisher changed the delivery schedule so they tend to arrive after Club Night.
Any help would be very much appreciated. If you can help, contact: sam-editor@iam-sheffield.bike. Thank you.
Ways to stay in touch with your Club!
It’s really easy to stay in touch with your Club! We provide emails, a website and use social media accounts for you to contact us. All of which is free of any cost to the Club. If you are not getting the Club information circulated, or simply want to tell us something, just let us know at sam-editor@iam-sheffield.bike. We’ll be happy to ensure that we stay in touch with you. You can also now sign up for Club emails on the SAM website. Paul Conway
Editor & Webmaster, Sheffield Advanced Motorcyclists