SAM Weekly Newsletter – 14th February 2025
Roy Clark (Whiteknights Manager & Membership Secretary) brought brought the Blood Bikes car down to Meadowhall Retail Park last Saturday. Named ‘Kim’ (after Roy’s late wife) and sporting a new livery, it has SAM badges too! The car will keep the volunteer NHS Blood Bike service running when its bikers can’t ride. Yes, they need volunteer drivers for the service, so if you can help contact Roy (membership@iam-sheffield.bike), or talk to him most Saturday mornings at Meadowhall Retail Park.
Details of Steve Eyre’s funeral, burial and celebration of life, have been updated. It’s on the 28th February 2025. They can be found in this newsletter and on the calendar on the SAM website. The SAM Committee will be sending our condolences to Steve’s family. A number of SAM members will be riding to the service to pay their respects. A larger than life character, Steve brought his own unique perspective on life and was a dedicated member of the SAM Club.
Fran (Committee Chair) is coordinating the Darley Moor Road Skills Days 2025. They will take place on the 19th May, 6th June and 25th September. Each day will cost £165/person (using your own motorcycle). You can book your place(s) through the SAM website.
Another event is the SAM Members Spring Ride to North Yorkshire. This SAM Member’s Event is being organised by Clive Lewis (Social Secretary) and details will be forwarded as soon as they become available.
The new SAM website is getting well used. It is the forum where ALL events and communication for the Public, SAM members, Associates, Observers, SAM’s Committee and Whiteknights Blood Bikes, can be seen. Being mindful of the groups we serve as a charity means that our Objects and Purposes can be tailored to each group’s needs. The Public section link, ‘Motorcycling for ALL road users’, will help us to meet our obligations to provide information, promote motorcycling, educate our local community and direct riders to further training. The SAM Members section will support continuing rider education, SAM Club information, member events, weekly newsletter and anything else members need to be informed about. The content of the Associates and Observers sections are managed by the Chief National Observer. The Committee section is managed by the SAM Committee. For the latter three sections, the Editor can help with layout, display, proofreading and copywriting. The website is ‘public’, meaning that website visitors, if they are interested, can look at any section to satisfy their curiosity or find information. SAM members can help by checking for any broken links, making suggestions about content, providing information and telling us how we might improve it.
The SAM Annual Photo Competition still needs more photos from members. See the item in this newsletter for details.
In this week’s newsletter we’ve gone a bit nostalgic. It amazing that, since their invention, motorcycles still have a lot in common with bicycles. More recent history brings you a video of the SAM Club in 2014. We are still providing our services, updated for today’s road and traffic conditions. It’s heart-warming to see old friends, some of whom are still going strong! Ride safe and happy reading.
Advanced riders are safer road users, ride longer, rider further, meet more people and enjoy a healthier, happier life!
Steve Eyres’ Funeral Service is at 10.30am on the 28th February 2025 at:
High Green Methodist Church
15 Wortley Road
High Green
Sheffield S35 4LQ
Burial at 11.30am
Burn Cross Cemetery
Burncross Road
Chapeltown
Sheffield S35 1SG
Celebration of Life at 12.30pm
The Commercial Inn
Chapeltown
Sheffield S35 2XF
SAM Members ONLY: Track days give you a safe space in which to practice advanced riding skills that will help to keep you safer out on the road. At Darley Moor, ‘Road Skills Days’ are designed to give qualified road riders new techniques and enhance existing skills in a controlled circuit environment. Aimed at road riders with knowledge and some experience of advanced road riding, Road Skills days will showcase techniques that will enhance both rider performance and safety when road riding.
It’s the SAM Annual Photo Competition 2025
Email ALL entries to sam-editor@iam-sheffield.bike
Closing date 12mn Sunday 23rd March 2025
Next SAM Club Night
3rd March 2025
7.30pm start for meeting at 8pm. Gives you time to catch up on what you’ve missed!
Treeton Miners Welfare Club
Arundel Street
Treeton
Rotherham S60 5PW
Next SAM Committee Meeting
27th February 2025
Details to be arranged
General
Motorcycling podcast Full Chat is back for a third series, and the first two-wheeled fanatic to join hosts David Prutton and Iwan Thomas is actor and TV presenter Charley Boorman.
Boorman, who is best known for his roles in Excalibur and Hope and Glory, as well as presenting TV shows about his motorcycling adventures alongside Hollywood star Ewan McGregor, is on the pod to discuss the favourite places he has ridden and his motorcycle adventures. Read more…
The Magnificent 10 biking deals of the week
What are the best motorcycle and kit deals and discounts available right now?
Continuing our regular weekly guides to current biking offers and bargains, we’ve been scouring the marketplace – so you don’t have to! And, we’re adding USED bikes, too! Read more…
The last motorcycle ridden by the late Dave Myers in the Hairy Bikers TV series is set to go under the hammer this spring, with all proceeds pledged to help good causes.
The BSA Gold Star, which featured in the BBC’s Hairy Bikers Go West, will be auctioned on March 26 at the National Motorcycle Museum in Solihull.
The sale will be handled without fees by H&H Classics, with every penny raised going to the NSPCC and the Institute for Cancer Research – charities that were close to Myers’ heart. Read more…
Manufacturers are scrambling to make bikes more efficient, as lowering emissions while pumping out more performance is the name of the game. This is especially true now, given the rising cost of fuel and stricter emissions regulations pretty much all over the world. At least, everywhere else apart from the United States…
And while electric motorcycles are indeed gaining traction, hybrids, on the other hand, are not. In the car world, hybrids have become ubiquitous, from family hatchbacks to fancy plug-in hybrid supercars. But in the two-wheeled world, hybrid machines remain far and few in between. Read more…
The Guinness World Record (GWR) for the latest handlebar-mounted wheelie has been broken, with the Swede, Magnus Carlsson, topping 125.93mph at an airfield in Sweden. The record was set in the Summer of 2023, although as is the way with the GWR, the feat has only recently been published on its website. The previous record, again set by Carlsson in 2023, stood at 109.2mph.
Speaking about his record-breaking run, Carlsson said:
“The handlebar wheelie is my absolute favourite stunt of all, and one of the stunts that took the most attention during my career as a stunt rider.
“The first time I did a handlebar wheelie was in 1992. Three years later I made a record attempt at Skövde Airport in Sweden. Since a few handlebar wheelie record runs over the years have been made and documented by Guinness World Records, I wanted to make a record attempt while I still have the bike and the knowledge and try to break the 200 km/h handlebar wheelie.” Read more…
Rider Health & Safety
Do you ride a motorcycle or know someone who does? If so, you’ll know that riding a motorcycle has some risks. In fact, statistics show that motorcyclists are much more likely to be involved in a serious or fatal accident than car drivers. This is why it’s important to take steps to reduce the risks and the Biker I.C.E. Card is one of the most effective solutions available.
The Biker I.C.E. Card is a simple, yet vital tool. It contains your contact details and essential medical information. In the event of an accident, emergency services staff can quickly access this information to help them decide on the right treatment for you. By carrying a Biker I.C.E. Card, you can ensure that emergency services staff have the information they need to take account of any ongoing health problems you have and any current treatments that you are receiving. This can make their job easier and your emergency care safer. Read more...
BIKING FREEDOM REGAINED for paralysed rider
The job of a sportbike tire is a tough one. Considering the performance – and variety – of today’s modern sporting machines, an ideal tire needs to be able to warm up quickly, offer good grip in both wet and dry conditions, transfer feedback to the rider, and provide good handling capabilities. Thankfully, all the major tire companies work tirelessly to improve their tires to meet these demands. Of course, longevity is a concern as well, but compared to a sport-touring tire a sportbike tire won’t quite measure up with all the other duties it has to perform.
Here, we’ve gathered seven different tires that are great at handling it all. We’ve focused on street-based tires, since that’s where the majority of sportbike riders spend their time, although all of the tires here are more than capable of handling the occasional trackday or two. If you’re the serious trackday/racing type, we’ll have a separate guide for you coming soon. Read more…
The Beeline Moto II is a miniature full-color motorcycle navigation device that connects via Bluetooth 4.0 to your smartphone, enabling universal GPS operation on any motorcycle. The waterproof, anodized alloy 2×0.8-inch main case features a 1.45-inch TFT screen with antireflective and hydrophobic coatings, delivering 412×412 resolution. This shockproof, self-contained unit includes an accelerometer, a gyroscope, and a magnetometer for added functionality. The whole gadget weighs only 2.1 ounces (and the plastic-housed version is even lighter!). Read more…
Chavvy types riding electric motorcycles on the road are fast becoming an epidemic in the UK. Making matters worse is the fact that the law which is supposed to protect the public is working against those who have the job of upholding it.
My hometown of Coventry is not immune to illegally ridden motorcycles, whether petrol or electrically powered. You see them regularly riding on the roads, pavements, parks and public ground. Quite often two-up and more often than not with the riders wearing nothing more than a health and safety balaclava. Read more…
Adventure & Touring
When I first visited Bozeman, Montana, I’d come for only a month to celebrate Christmas with my family, who’d recently relocated there. Then, unforeseen circumstances resulted in my moving to the city, and it’s now been a year since I first set eyes upon the valley.
Bozeman is a small city in a large state with little population (Montana is the fourth largest state by area, but has the seventh lowest population, at just above one million residents), and is located in a valley surrounded by mountains, meaning it’s perfect for riding—a biker’s dream.
Montana has the Bridger Mountains, the Crazies and the Tobacco Roots, all of which are within easy riding distance of Bozeman. Each of these mountains offers amazing scenery and camping opportunities, in addition to perfect off-road trails. From basic dirt roads to the gnarlier, rocky trails, there is something for every biker. Read more…
Queenstown adventurer David ‘Irish’ Anderson is launching a book this Sunday about his epic 18-month motorcycle journey from Ireland to South Africa.
The veteran river rafting guide-turned film industry operative, who’s called Queenstown home since 2000, has penned a deeply personal account about his 60,000km journey through 40 countries in 2013 and 2014.
First Pub on the Right, subtitled ‘A wife-changing motorcycle adventure from Cork to Cape Town’, is the 53-year-old’s account of how an idea in a pub led to him and his wife setting out from the Irish city of Cork on two motorbikes.
After their shock split in Israel, he considered abandoning the trip before deciding to carry on alone, Anderson says.
“I decided it would distract myself from the grief, so I plunged headlong into whatever the road had to offer.”
The book details “a physical journey but also an emotional one … I went to some pretty dark places”. Read more…
History & Custom
Enginethusiast: Anthony Scott Finds Purpose in the Simplicity of Machines
Fascinated by the beauty of engineering, photographer and military veteran Anthony Scott, alongside partner and photographer Melissa Bryan, started Enginethusiast as a way to house their interests in building, photographing, and filming anything with a motor. Enginethusiast is the culmination of passion and purpose. It covers everything from motorcycles to autos to airplanes and shows…Read more »
Honda celebrates the 50th anniversary of one of its most popular models with the release of the 2025 Gold Wing and Gold Wing Tour. The 2025 Gold Wing models will be available in three 50th Anniversary liveries plus a fourth non-anniversary option. These might just be your favorite collectible. Gold Wing Tour is now available…Read More »
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John Starley’s “Rover” safety bicycle of 1885 set a design course that the motorcycle of today continues to follow. Two wheels of roughly equal diameters are arranged as a pair of casters sharing a common pivot: the steering head, which is located above the front wheel. A handlebar steers the shorter front caster, which then steers the longer rear caster.
Beginning in 1895, French Marquis Jules-Albert de Dion and Georges Bouton had by 1900 built and sold 20,000 small, high-speed internal combustion engines, their concept licensed from Nicolaus Otto. What sensible person could resist attaching such an engine to a bicycle? Ever pedal up a hill and end up walking, exhausted, and pushing the bicycle? Read more…
Sometimes it good to remind ourselves of where we’ve come from to tell everyone that our dedicated Observers are still training advanced motorcyclists and NHS Blood Bikers; and, the whole SAM Club is here to support our local community. Enjoy the nostalgia…
As you get better, things get less interesting” Pt 1
I once read that quote, or heard someone say it. I can’t remember. But I did jot it down in a ‘list of future articles’ which I’ve just rediscovered. This statement encapsulates the thinking that once we’ve mastered a skill or activity, the less stimulating the activity becomes. The question I’d ask you to think about is this; if we’re less interested because we think we know pretty much everything there is to do with riding, what does that really tell us about just how we’re engaged with the process of mastering motorcycle riding? And is there anything we can do to rekindle that initial feeling that every ride was a lesson? Read more…
Why would you brake-c
heck a car?
It seems likely there was something going on between biker and driver here, but why would you brake-check a car? This Malaysian rider was very lucky to stay upright. All too easily he could have ended up under the car’s wheels. Read more…
I can’t tell what the rider was thinking…
…but I can tell you that he had time to think!
Years ago, James Ouellet, an American researcher, looked at bike crashes at junctions (intersections) and concluded that if a rider had MORE than three seconds warning, they’d usually get out of trouble. But with less than three seconds, they’d be more likely to end up in difficulties.
But sometimes, it seems even three seconds isn’t enough.
Three years back I managed to upset a senior researcher in motorcycle safety. To summarise, together with another highly experienced rider coach in Australia, I’d watched a video of a motorcycle crash. We’d made the assumption that the rider was travelling at or around the 60 kph speed limit, then estimated the time the rider had to detect that the vehicle he hit was emerging into his path. Read more…
Can we rely on peripheral vision?
Over the last couple of weeks I’ve been investigating a specific part of an article by Steve Rose on the Bennetts Bike Social site called: ‘Open your mind. How to see more and find confidence on a motorcycle’, which has a section in which Mark McVeigh, BikeSocial’s Motorbike Coach, talks about how vision worked.
As I mentioned a couple of weeks back, something Mark said caught my eye. He said: “using peripheral vision allows faster reaction times”.
What exactly do we mean by ‘faster reaction times’? Read more…
Whiteknights Yorkshire Blood Bikes are delighted to announce that our South Yorkshire Blood Car, “Kim” has received its livery from the excellent team at Fast Signs Sheffield.
Sheffield City Council Road Safety Team continues to engage with young adults across the city, this morning talking to Y11 students at Birkdale School.Every death and serious injury on the road is a preventable tragedy. Yet, on average, five people die every day on the road in the UK and 82 are seriously injured (10-year average from 2013-2022). This has to change. Help us by sticking to the rules of the road. Brake, the road safety charity
IAM RoadSmart
Has it been a while since you passed your Advanced test? 
IAM RoadSmart aims to make safer driving and riding accessible for all by adding Knockhill and Bicester to the events calendar, as well as providing places for young people funded by the ‘Big Give’ campaign. Read more
Circuit training by the UK’s leading road safety charity will be coming to two new venues this year – Knockhill Racing Circuit in Fife and Bicester Heritage Centre in Oxfordshire.
Are you aware of the OAP framework when out riding? 
National Motorcyclists Council
The National Motorcyclists Council (NMC) has welcomed news that the Department for Transport (DfT) is considering options for reviewing the current training, testing and licensing regime. The NMC, along several motorcycling organisations and other road safety stakeholders were told the news by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport, Lilian Greenwood MP who attended a round table meeting of the Government’s Motorcycle Strategic Focus Group on January 20th to discuss licensing and other aspects of motorcycle safety and policy. Read more…
SOME LIGHT AT THE END OF THE POTHOLE
POTHOLE PARTNERSHIP REVEALS IMPROVING PICTURE ON NATIONAL POTHOLE DAY
- The AA attended 643,318 pothole related incidents in 2024, down compared to previous year
- Partnership urges councils to make permanent repairs a priority over temporary fixes
- Drop in pothole incidents coincides with rise in repair costs
- Pothole damage costs drivers whopping £579m
The Pothole Partnership is calling for more permanent repairs and greater use of innovation and technology on National Pothole Day (15 January) to reduce vehicle damage and injuries to cyclists and motorcycle riders. Read more…
FEMA
The European Council wants to make it mandatory to hand in motorcycles when the have come to ‘the end of their life’.
A majority of EU member states wants to include motorcycles in the new Regulation on circularity requirements for vehicle design and on management of end-of-life vehicles (end-of-life vehicle means a vehicle which is waste or vehicles that are irreparable). Some members did ask for more data and for feasibility studies when it comes to inclusion of motorcycles and other powered two- and three-wheelers. This is the outcome of an environment meeting of the European Council on Tuesday 17 December 2024. The Hungarian presidency of the European Union was not able to complete the end-of-life dossier and reach a Council position, so it will now be handled by the Polish presidency, which will start from January 2025. Read more…
Filtering through a traffic jam on a motorcycle has finally become legal in France. After 26 years of fierce fighting this already well-established practice is recognized.
French motorcyclists’ organisation FFMC – a member of FEMA – calls it ‘A major step forward that marks a decisive step in road sharing and user safety’.
A step forward for road sharing and mobility
Filtering, although generally practiced by many bikers, was in a legal grey area until now, often tolerated, rarely sanctioned. And since 2016 the authorities experimented with it. After almost ten long years of experimentation, this legalization brings official recognition to a practice that helps to smooth traffic flow and reduce traffic jams. Read more…
British Motorcyclists Federation
Paul Varnsverry, the highly respected motorcycling clothing expert, is launching a campaign aimed at eliminating uncertified and potentially unsafe bike kit, currently being imported into the UK and offered for sale online. Varnsverry, Technical Director of clothing consultant at PVA-PPE, is started a petition aimed at alerting Government to the dangers of untested kit. In conversation with MCN, he praised the efforts of Trading Standards in the last three years, in checking bike shows and high street shops for sub-standard kit. But he added that clothing offered online is attempting to circumvent these checks. Read more… New Rider Hub
What is Ridefree?
Ridefree is an award-winning enhancement to compulsory basic training (CBT), consisting of pre-course eLearning modules. Its aim is to help you prepare for your CBT and riding on the road.
How can it help me?
CBT should be an enjoyable experience. But there’s a lot to learn, and it’s normal to feel anxious about your first bike ride. The good news is that Ridefree will help you become a better and more confident rider by: Read more…
