Hi SAM Member
Contents
- Editorial
- Today on the SAM News page
- This week on the SAM Facebook page
- News from IAM RoadSmart
- Kevin Williams Newletter
- Extra bits
1. Editorial
As the lockdown lingers on with no sign yet of when we can ride again, here is your Club’s weekly dose of news and views. The SAM website has been busy with the usual sprinkling of spam messages puntuated by the odd biker desparate to get a First Ride Assessment. We know that it is frustrating not to be able to ride but at least essential journeys, i.e. shopping, medication, health care, essential supplies and support, can still be made. For anyone who wants a REALLY good update on what it takes to resolve a pandemic, listen to ‘How to vaccinate the world‘ with Tim Harford who interviews Larry Brilliant, an expert epidemiologist who draws lessons from smallpox, polio, ebola, marberg, SARS and MERS. It’s sobering but hopeful. Listen online or with your favourite podcast player. If you want more motorcycling related news and views just follow the links in Kevin Williams newsletter that he kindly agree to let us share with you. There is lots to enjoy and you can share it with your family and friends.
2. Today on the SAM Motorcycling News page (just a sample…)
Did you know that the SAM Motorcycling News page updates every 3 hours? No, well that’s why there is just a sample of today’s news items for you to enjoy.
MotoGP™21: the official MotoGP™ videogame returns
New features, gameplay improvements and a smarter AI than ever await fans as the new videogame launches this April. Milestone and Dorna Sports are proud to announce MotoGP™21, the new chapter of the official MotoGP™ videogame. Featuring the 2021 Official Season and enriched by the power of next generation consoles, MotoGP™21 is set to launch Read more…
Buell Making Big Moves in 2021
Buell Motorcycle Company has just announced plans for revival in 2021. The American-based company has said in a press release that they will be releasing 10 different motorcycles by 2024. The Buell brand name and trademarks were acquired by EBR (Erik Buell Racing) Motorcycles in 2010. Buell Motorcycles will be under the leadership of CEO Read more…
BMW May Not be Done Playing Offense with the Cruiser Lineup
In 2020, BMW rolled out the R18 – the mammoth of cruisers that combined retro styling with a 1800cc engine to make even the most American of motorcycles quiver. Upon the announcement of the R18, it was already known that there would be two more variants to follow. These three bikes would diversify the lineup Read more…
7 Brand New Motorcycles to Hit The Roads in 2021
Our favourite motorcycle brands have got us covered with some brand new bikes for 2021! Hopefully, this summer will treat us to some sunshine and freedom to enjoy some of these beauties! BMW M1000RR Back in September, BMW gave a sparkle to all of our eyes after they unveiled the brand new M1000RR. This fiery Read more…
MotoGP to implement strict lockdown for paddock for Qatar test and opener
The MotoGP paddock will be subject to a strict lockdown protocol for the Qatar test and double-header to ensure the 2021 season can get underway safely Read more…
Recall: Some 2011 To 2014 BMW Motorcycles Might Have A Fuel Leak – More details here
Is age no barrier?
If you’ve ever been concerned that your age might be a barrier to setting off on an overland trip, let Franco Picco inspire you. Read more…
Which Type Of Motorcycle Tire Plug Works Best After A Flat? – Read more…
3. This week on the SAM Facebook page
Why you should do an advanced motorcycling course – British Motorcyclists Federation
Remember when you gained your licence and bought a bike, ready to hit the road (hopefully not literally)? You were alone on the road for the first time, with no instructor talking in your ear and making sure you spot that car pulling out of the junction ahead. And now, even when you have been riding a while, you know that everyone’s confidence wavers from time to time – there’s nothing to protect your fragile bodies from the impact of, well, anything that might get in your way! Read more
Let’s look after each other – Mental Health Foundation
Let’s keep looking after each other as we struggle into another week in Groundhog Day @mhmotorbike @bennetts_bike #mhmotorbike#mhmotorbikerelay#mhfaengland#itsgoodtotalk#MentalHealth#bennettsbike
See more…
How to wear a medical mask safely – World Health Organisation
See more…
4. News from IAM RoadSmart
Sharing the road – Richard Gladman
We teach our children to share nicely. We want them to understand the other child’s point of view. When my children were young, I was forever explaining how their friend (insert name here) deserves a turn with the ball too. Being empathetic to other people’s needs is the glue of society. Read more…
IAM RoadSmart Research – Speeding less acceptable
New research from the UK’s largest independent road safety charity, IAM RoadSmart, has revealed some positive long-term trends in relation to speeding behaviour in the UK with motorists now considering it less acceptable to speed than they did five years ago. Read more…
Tips from IAM RoadSmart – Dealing with low sunlight
With spring on the way the sun is rising earlier. So, if you are making an essential journey, being dazzled by the sun can be a major and potentially risky distraction. Read more…
5. Kevin Williams Newsletter – news, views and tips from the world of advanced motorcycling
A WEEK IS A LONG TIME… Survival Skills Newsletter 19 January 2021
A week is a long time in COVID-world. This time last week, I was thanking all the organisers for their hard work in getting the 2021 Shiny Side Up event off the ground in New Zealand, and for inviting me to participate as a virtual speaker via Zoom at a well attended morning ‘Talk Series’ event in Christchurch.
That evening my second presentation was for the BikeFest event at Nelson…
…and then the bad news arrived. Due to a Coronavirus outbreak, New Zealand had gone into lockdown and a number of the events – including the two big BikeFest events I was scheduled to be ‘at’ had been cancelled. Hopefully the later dates in the tour, beginning with the New Plymouth Talk Series event on Tuesday 23 Feb, will still go ahead as planned. So my remaining speaking dates are:
Napier Talk Series 6 Mar
Kapiti Bike Fest 7 Mar
A week is also a long time in motorcycling politics. On Monday, the BMF published an online report of a virtual meeting back in January in which their chair, Jim Freeman, spoke about “a platform of like-minded bike organisations” being assembled, to be called the ‘National Motorcycling Council’, with a view to be publicly launched “in February”. A link to the page was posted to me late on Tuesday night and whilst it appeared that the BMF had jumped the gun in making the news public, I decided to run the story on my Elevenses webcast, along with my own thoughts on just who would be represented by this council that would “speak with one voice”. I also posted the news up later as an ordinary FB post.
If you want my opinion, too many decisions made on our half are made by organisations like this with limited connection to the average biker. I don’t think it’s a bad thing that the formation of a group – which is claiming to representing US – isn’t totally behind closed doors. You can watch Elevenses on FB – link below – or over on my YouTube channel at https://youtu.be/U2CuLV2MQOI
And a week is a long time on social media. Fed up with Facebook? Many people are, and their latest PR disaster in Australia will leave a very sour taste in many peoples’ mouths. Right now, despite having well over 6000 followers, I’m considering whether I can continue to support the platform.
For the time being, I’ll be dual-posting with the most important posts on FB AND on my www.Ko-Fi.com/survivalskills page which does NOT have the privacy and selective advertising problems that FB does – if you sign up for Ko-Fi, you see MY posts and nothing else. So you can read the latest TIPS on TUESDAY and SKILLS on SATURDAY better biking posts where you choose – I’ll be publishing them (more or less) simultaneously. Posts will also be indexed on Ko-Fi, to make it easier to track down old articles or interesting content.
Here’s the 2021 index:
https://ko-fi.com/Blog/Post/TIPS-on-TUESDAY-SKILLS-on-SATURDAY-2021–INDEX-O5O33H347
As part of my continuing commitment to provide high quality better biking content to all riders regardless of the depth of their pockets, access will be free but the Ko-Fi posts will be moved to the indexed SUPPORTER content on Ko-Fi after 60 days.
Right now, SUPPORTERS can access over 300 better biking articles originally published on FB on 2014 to 2016, and I’ve just about finished the TIPS on TUESDAY posts for 2017 – that’s another 50 articles. It’s probably the biggest and best value RIDER SKILLS RESOURCE on the internet! I’d say that’s pretty good value for just £3 per month.
THIS WEEK ON FACEBOOK – pick and choose what you want to read – just follow the links and FB member or not, it’ll take you to MY post and nowhere else.
*** COMMENT *** Facebook PR disaster in Australia
As you’ve probably heard, Facebook have implemented a ‘ban’ on news in Australia in response to a proposed law requiring social media platforms to pay for news items shown on their platforms.
Predictably, it’s not gone down well, either in Australia or in the rest of the world, with Facebook pulling the plug on health and hospital sites in the middle of a pandemic, not to mention emergency services, welfare groups, charities …
See more
https://business.facebook.com/SurvivalSkills/posts/4070371429662079
==FREE ON KO-FI== From the Facebook Archives
How much power do we need? This particular post dates from October 31 2017, and is from the long-running ‘TIPS ON TUESDAY’ series which has been running almost unbroken since 2013! So what was it all about?…
See more
https://ko-fi.com/post/October-31-How-much-power-do-we-need-H2H63ORI4
*** 60 SECOND SAFETY *** #27 Slow in, cautiously round, fast(er) out
60 Second Safety is a series of short ‘Better Biking’ videos from Survival Skills Rider Training.
In Video 26 I introduced ‘Reference Points’ to help time steering input. But what about throttle input?…
See more
https://business.facebook.com/SurvivalSkills/videos/787932075139211/
*** BREAKING NEWS *** BMF reveal new ‘motorcycling council’
A new organisation intending to speak ‘with one voice’ on behalf of motorcycling has been created. Word of the formation of the National Motorcyclists Council – which appears to be ahead of the OFFICIAL news – was broken in a British Motorcyclists Federation news release on their website.
Reporting on the proceedings of BMF Regional Meetings in January 2021 a webpage dated Monday 15 February (which I heard about lat…
Continue reading
https://business.facebook.com/SurvivalSkills/posts/4065025193530036
*** ELEVENSES LIVE *** Wed 17 Feb Jan Elevenses 114
In today’s webcast… BMF reveal surprise creation of ‘National Motorcyclists Council’… Shiny SIde Up events axed as COVID lockdown hits New Zealand… how many potholes will £500 fix… transport minister ignores pothole risk to motorcyclists three weeks after meeting MAG… Ride Vision collision avoidance system nears production… upgrade your Africa Twin 1100 to Android Auto… former WSS300 champion Ana Carrasco back …
See more
https://business.facebook.com/SurvivalSkills/videos/3780932472019994
*** Shiny Side Up 2021 *** Some good news
The organisers “are planning an online event for those who may miss out this year. Stay tuned for more information.”
Those of us delivering our presentations on Zoom already have already volunteered our services to help resurrect something from the cancelled part of the tour. …
See more
https://business.facebook.com/SurvivalSkills/posts/4063448943687661
*** TIPS ON TUESDAY *** ‘Essential Skills’ and overtaking 1
Overtaking crashes, particularly those on the open road, are killers. Overtaking by definition commits us to a higher speed. Thanks to that speed, once we have made a mistake, it’s difficult to recover by backtracking. And the third effect of high speed is the impact – literally – on our bodies when we do crash. Hitting a hard object at speed rarely ends well.
The rider of the bike in the photo was lucky to be taken…
Continue reading
https://business.facebook.com/SurvivalSkills/photos/a.154251857940742/4059630204069535
*** SHINY SIDE UP 2021 *** Christchurch Talk Series event
A big hats off to everyone in the audience who turned up to the Talk Series event in Christchurch, a big hand to ALL the presenters, and finally let’s not forget the organisers who work so hard to put on these events for everyone.
I would have loved to have been there on the stage in person delivering my ‘Science Of Being Seen’ #SOBS presentation but thanks to the wonders of Zoom I was there in spirit! …
See more
https://business.facebook.com/SurvivalSkills/posts/4059790590720163
*** NEWS *** Shiny Side Up cancellations
Some very disappointing news from New Zealand and Shiny Side Up. I absolutely understand the need for – and applaud – the decisive action that’s been taken by the NZ government.
But I know it will be a big disappointment for everyone who looks forward to these events – including all the presenters. …
See more
https://business.facebook.com/SurvivalSkills/posts/4059678527398036
*** GET READY TO RIDE *** Learning from aviation (again)
Last week I was using a financial investment warning – “past performance is no guarantee of future results” – as a metaphor for the issues we face on the road. Just as an investment that achieved great results in the past may suddenly slump, there’s no guarantee that a manoeuvre we’ve performed without incident 1000 times in the past will go right today.
But… the numbers fool us. …
Continue reading
https://business.facebook.com/SurvivalSkills/photos/a.154251857940742/4054038731295349
==FREE ON KO-FI== From the Facebook Archives
A look at reaction times. Head over to this post from April 2017, and find out just why sometimes even the best riders reactions are so slow you need an egg timer! And it’s FREE TO READ!
https://ko-fi.com/post/FREE-TO-READ-April-25-Whats-your-reaction-U7U53N8YM
*** ELEVENSES LIVE *** Sun 14 Feb Jan Elevenses 113
In today’s webcast… first presentations to New Zealand via Zoom… teens burgle house of woman who died in vigilante crash… Kawasaki’s 2021 ZX-14R recalled in US and Australia… KTM RC890 sportsbike development bike spotted… no imminent return to work for bike trainers… but MCIA finally move on expiring CBT as issue raised in parliament… date for the diary – Motorcycle Live 2021 shifts to December… today’s bett…
See more
https://business.facebook.com/SurvivalSkills/videos/726257528278039
*** SKILLS ON SATURDAY *** Where do you plan to stop?
Take a look at the photo. It’s a fairly ordinary looking lane, isn’t it? But here’s a bit of a puzzler for you. If you were riding along that lane, where would you plan to be able to pull the bike to a standstill?
Asking that question is all-important because the right speed for a bend is not “the one that takes your motorcycle around the bend under full control” (to quote the latest edition of the DVSA’s ‘Essential Skill…
Continue reading
https://business.facebook.com/SurvivalSkills/posts/4049122898453599
*** SOBS *** A year ago today…
I was delighted to be able to bring Brittany Morrow and her partner Dave along to one of our Biker Down courses in Kent. Of course, unbeknownst to us, it was to prove the last course of 2020, and virtually our last taste of normality for a year.
Here’s what Brittany wrote about her evening in our company:…
See more
https://business.facebook.com/SurvivalSkills/posts/4051855028180386
FINALLY – FEEL FREE TO SHARE THE NEWS! If you’re already on the mailing list please to share the newsletter to anyone you think may be interested such as biking family and friends.
If this is your first time reading and you like the content, sign up for delivery straight to your inbox on Fridays.
https://survivalskills.substack.com/
PS – I hate spam too – and will never sell, rent, or lease your email address.
Finally, the SAM Committee sends our very best wishes to all our members, their families and friends. If there is any way in which you think that the SAM Club can help to make life a little happier, or your struggles a little easier, just let us know. If it’s possible, we’ll be happy to see what we can do.
Take care and stay safe
Paul Conway
(on behalf of the SAM Committee)
Sheffield Advanced Motorcyclists
Charity no. 1089671
IAM Group no. 4152
6. Extra bits:
- Next SAM Committee Meeting: TBA
- Next SAM Club Night: TBA
- Gift Aid Form: Gift Aid allows UK charities to claim back the basic rate tax already paid on donations. This means we can claim back from the government on your behalf 25p for every £1 donated, boosting the value of the donation by a quarter. Use this link to fill in the form on the SAM website and send it to treasurer@iam-sheffield.bike.
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