Table of Contents
Editorial
Thanks to SAM member Matt Lee for suggesting that we have a website area where visitors can find links to mental health support. When struggling with life’s demands, having ready access to help and support is one of the pillars on which we stand. If you have any ideas send them to sam-editor@iam-sheffield.bike
In your newsletter this week there is a discussion about the limit point. That optical illusion where every motorist, with good eyesight, sees the edges of the road coming together in the distance. It is most frequently used to gauge increasing or decreasing speed in bends. However, it is argued that this is only half the story.
Fancy getting away? There is news of a ‘Bikes & Boats’ tour to Croatia. However, it’s only for female riders. To prompt your adventure riding ideas read about riding through Texas. For inspiration read about Gloria Struck. At 99-years-old she is still riding and planning to ride across the USA when she is 100. For more heroism, you can read about the biker who, after 14 years and life-changing injuries, returned to Mallory Park to ride the same bike that had changed his life.
The Whiteknights were very busy in June. A total of 318 jobs, six of which were for breast milk. One trip was from Newcastle to the milk bank in Chester where premature babies can request a withdrawal.
IAM RoadSmart is pleading with social media companies to update their policies on the removal of illegal riding and driving images. There have been a spate of videos showing drivers and riders with a callous indifference for their own safety and that of others. Social media companies could stop their platforms being used to encourage the unsafe use of our roads. The IAM also wants your views about the development of graduated driving licenses.
FEMA reports on the use of road marking circles on Austrian roads. Reported to reduce motorcycle accidents by 80%. The idea is to keep riders away from the centre lines on bends and corners to prevent conflict with other road users. Research has shown that bikers with avoid the painted area, using the arc of the circles in negotiating their riding path.
Finally the BMF report that the U 7003, that runs along the the shore of Thirlmere, is to open again after a long closure for repair work. Until next week, happy reading.
Online Motorcycling News
General
Brave biker completes lap of Mallory Park 13 years on from life changing racing accident. Having defied the odds to regain his mobility, Mark Sewell, 58, from Cheadle lapped the circuit on Saturday, July 6 during the circuit’s Mallory Bike Bonanza weekend – using the same Honda CB500 he raced on the day of the incident in July 2011. Read more
Rider Safety
A huge chunk of the innovation we’ve seen around motorcycles in recent years involves safety. From electronic rider aids to adaptive cruise control, all these systems aim to add another layer of safety above that of sheer human control. It’s clear that more innovations and outlandish ideas will come our way in the near future, too, and CFMoto is looking to introduce one that’s sure to raise a lot of eyebrows: motorcycle seatbelts. Read more
A complete guide to motorcycle tax
As a responsible motorbike owner or learner, motorcycle tax will be part of the upkeep process. It isn’t the most thrilling aspect of owning a bike, but it is important.
In this guide, we’ll give you a rundown on everything you need to know about motorbike taxes. Read more
Far better is the late apex line. The idea is that you go into the corner slightly slower, and stick to the outside until you see the exit. If it’s clear, you then turn the bike quickly (which is easier to do because of your lower speed) until the bike is pointing at the exit, then lift the bike up and deploy all that horsepower you paid for. Read more
ROAD SAFETY COMMUNITY JOINS FORCES TO CALL FOR MANDATORY SAFETY FEATURES IN ALL NEW CARS
More than 50 organisations and individuals support calls for Secretary of State for Transport to adopt the latest vehicle General Safety Regulation updates. Read more
Adventure & Touring
WHY EVERY BIKER NEEDS TO TRY TRAIL RIDING
We tried Phoenix Motorcycle Training’s trail riding course in the Peak District. “Surely I’m not going to get up that,” is the thought that goes through my head, shortly before proving my doubts wrong with a bit of extra gas and some trust in the bike underneath me. The aforementioned “that” is a chunky-looking arrangement of rocks going up a reasonably steep bit of gradient. From the bottom, it looks particularly chunky. Read more
Big Little Rides, a women-owned motorcycle touring company, has announced an all-women motorcycle tour, the “Bikes & Boats” expedition in Croatia. In collaboration with The Cold Start, a company known for organizing adventurous events, BLR aims to offer a unique blend of off-road motorcycling and sailing. Read more
It was our first visit to the U.S. While indulging in stale airline snacks in cattle class on our way to Texas from South Africa, we had a good laugh about all the contradicting and varied opinions of the U.S. we’d heard. “They have the World Series of American football, although they’re the only ones playing it.” “The poor bastards pay $5–$13 for a beer in a restaurant and think beef jerky is something nice to eat.” Google “biltong,” which is now available in the U.S., you’ll thank me later, and yes, paying that for beer is a human rights violation, in my humble opinion. Read more
I’m always on the hunt for ways to level up my skills and help my coaching clients do the same. My recent dive into “The Fundamentals of Leisure Off-Road Riding on Two Wheels” by Zé Duarte is a perfect example. This insightful book not only refreshed my knowledge but also sparked new ideas to share with my clients.
This is a comprehensive instructional book (available in Portuguese or English) that will have broad appeal to the adv/dual sport community. The attention to detail in this book is remarkable – instead of glossing over the basics, it probes the subtleties of bike handling, taking a fresh, focused approach that surpasses your standard instructional offerings. Read more
History & Custom
Gloria Struck on her 1950 Harley-Davidson Panhead. Happy 99th birthday (Born July 7th, 1925)
“Gloria Struck: 99 Years Old, If you’re a fan of documentary movies about motorcycles, you’ve probably seen an interview with Gloria Struck. She is currently 99 years old and has been riding motorcycles since she was 16 years old, in 1941. She is still riding motorcycles with no plans to give it up.
She travels around even today, to speak to women motorcyclists at events, and to promote the book she just wrote: Gloria – A Lifetime Motorcyclist: 75 Years on Two Wheels and Still Riding. She was a (very) early member of the Motor Maids, an all-women motorcycle riding club that has been around since its establishment in 1940. Everyone refers to her as a “legend.” She lives in New Jersey and has made annual trips to the Sturgis motorcycle rally in South Dakota, and the Daytona rally in Florida. She was inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 2016, and was named to the Sturgis Hall of Fame in 2011.
She does not trailer her motorcycle but rides absolutely everywhere. She estimates a lifetime mileage somewhere around 650,000 miles over her 79 year career on eleven different Harley-Davidsons and three Indian motorcycles.
Apparently her next goal, when she reaches 100 years old, is to do a cross-country ride”
When Miami police wouldn’t let her get a motorcycle license in the early 1950s, Bessie Stringfield demanded a meeting with the department’s white chief. He took her to a park and asked her to perform a number of difficult motorcycle tricks — and she nailed them all. “From that day on, I didn’t have any trouble from the police, and I got my license too.” It didn’t take long for her to earn the nickname of “Motorcycle Queen Of Miami.”
Bernardet x Honda hybrid scooter by Seb’s Atelier and Objet Marcant Having just returned from a trip to Italy, the urge to buy a classic Vespa or Lambretta is exceedingly strong. On the graph of life, age, and taste are directly correlated with how much sense scooters make—even if they are the oft-maligned segment of the two-wheeled world. They are cheap (-ish) to buy, cheap to run, and far more practical than a traditional motorcycle thanks to their onboard storage and lack of gears. Read more
Whiteknights Blood Bikes
June was our busiest month so far this year and our highest ever recorded relay jobs so a thanks to all the Whiteknights who made this possible.
South Yorkshire Safer Roads Partnership
Good morning – did you watch the big match last night? If you had a heavy one, you could still be over the legal drink drive limit this morning.
An average liver can process approximately one unit of alcohol per hour. This means that if someone drinks 12 units, it can take them roughly 13 hours to fully sober up.
If you are caught you may banned from driving, have points added on your licence, an unlimited fine, or even imprisonment. This will mean increased insurance costs, potential job loss and even restrictions on travel to other countries such as the United States.
Please don’t drive until you’re fully sober.
Kevin Williams
Information links – the Limit Point and just beyond
If there’s a single most crucial piece of understanding in riding and driving, it’s being “able to stop well within in the distance we can see to be clear”. There’s a qualifier to that: “and expect to remain clear” and I’ll come on to that next week in the third of these items. If you’re a regular here, you’ll know I started by explaining gathering information can be achieved simply via ‘observation’ – as in simply passively looking ahead – but using our vision to seek answers to a cascade of interlocking questions: Read more
The ‘Fatal Funnel’
Malc tipped me off to an article where the writer discussed the ‘Fatal Funnel’. I already had a pretty good idea what the term meant, and where it had come from. It’s from military use, and has been adopted by the police.
It refers to “a narrow, confining area that offers little-to-no mobility and often provides no cover or concealment. It is a cone-shaped path leading from an entry point where the party (individual or group) is most vulnerable to attack by another party.” Read more
It’s summer – safety on mountain roads
Here are a few tips for you to think about if you’re out enjoying some holiday riding this summer, and today I’m talking about encountering hazards on mountain roads. Whilst not all riders venture onto narrower roads by choice, it’s not always possible to avoid them in places like Scotland, Wales and up in the mountains of Europe. They are terrific fun with their roller coaster rises and falls, and the scenery is marvellous. But wherever we’re riding them, it’s a good idea to bear in mind they come with some unique risks too. Read more
Motorcycling Organsiations
IAM RoadSmart
REACTION: IAM RoadSmart calls on social media companies to update policy to deter illegal driving
IAM RoadSmart Director of Policy and Standards Nicholas Lyes said: “Yet again, we are seeing tragedy on our roads where drink-driving and illegal phone use have been contributory factors in a fatal collision. In this day of advancing technology, social media companies can play a vital role in deterring people from uploading and sharing pictures and videos of illegal driving on our roads. If we can reduce the temptation for drivers to do this, we may start to break the lethal cycle of using a phone illegally at the wheel for likes and comments online. We call on all social media companies to start updating their policies which either blocks such content or removes it swiftly from their platforms and hands the offending material over to the police.” Read more
Get involved in the Great Debate! 
Could Graduated Driving Licences make young drivers safer?
Let us know what you think in the comments below, and your views could appear in the ‘Great Debate’ feature in the Autumn/Winter issue of our magazine, RoadSmart.
Northern Ireland – Road safety briefing. Last updated: June 2024
Police Service for Northern Ireland data shows:
Calendar year 2024 so far: As of June 2024, there have been 26 fatalities on Northern Ireland’s roads.
Regions: In 2023, Newry, Mourne and Down district had the highest number of road deaths with 11 fatalities. Belfast City district recorded the most serious injuries in 2023 (127 people). Read more
How familiar are you with drink-drive law and statistics in the UK? 
Test your knowledge with our drink-drive quiz and comment your score below. 
Take the quiz 
National Motorcyclists Council
The National Motorcyclists Council NMC has this morning congratulated the Labour Party on their election victory and looks forward to the appointment of new Secretaries of State and other Ministers to DfT. DEFRA, Home Office and DCMS. A large motorcycling agenda awaits new ministers, as progress needs to be made on a wide range of issues. Read more
FEMA
Taking the correct cornering line is an absolute must for motorcyclists. KFV, the Austrian Kuratorium für Verkehrssicherheit, investigated the effect of innovative road markings for motorcyclists in risky Tyrolean curves and provided proof of success: the white ellipses on the road resulted in motorcyclists choosing a safer through curves and a reduction in the number of motorcycle accidents by 80 percent. Read more
British Motorcyclists Federation
Back in September 2023 the British Motorcyclists Federation (BMF) submitted a robust response objecting to proposals by Cumberland Council to introduce a permanent Traffic Regulation Order (TRO) to permanently close the U7003 road along the western shore of Thirlmere. The road had been “temporarily” closed by the Council since 2021 following Storm Arwen ostensibly to carry out urgent safety repairs. However, during that time the Council had failed to reach agreement with the landowner United Utilities on the necessary repairs required or a timescale for the reopening of the road. The prolonged closure of Thirlmere West Road had resulted in motorcyclists and other road users being effectively prevented from using the road and being able to enjoy the full extent of the Thirlmere lakeshore. Moreover, vulnerable road users including walkers, cyclists, horse riders and motorcyclists had been forced for 2 years to use the alternative and more dangerous A591. Read more
New Rider Hub
As the popularity of powered two wheelers (PTWs) in London has increased, so has, sadly, the number of motorbike thefts.
Scooters, mopeds and smaller engine motorbikes are particularly vulnerable to theft – after all, they are light and easy to lift and put in a van or pick-up without the rest of the public thinking anything is amiss.
As a result, the theft of motorcycles and scooters has reached almost epidemic levels. While PTWs make up around 2.5% of the vehicles on the road in the UK, they account for 10% of vehicle thefts.
What makes it worse is that recovery rates are far lower than for cars and light vans: most police forces struggle to return more than one-in-seven stolen scooters to their rightful owners. Read more
One of the many questions we’ve been asked recently by young riders is, ‘can I carry a passenger on my motorbike, scooter or moped?
Like with a lot of things around motorcycling law, it’s a little complicated, but basically, bikers can carry passengers as long as they hold a full motorbike licence.
If we’ve got a licence, we can ride with a pillion…
However, if we’re riding on L plates and CBT, no matter the bike, we can’t carry passengers, unless we’ve also got a full driver’s licence from before February 1, 2001.
We said it was a bit complicated! Read more
Next SAM Club Night
2nd September 2024
(No Club Night in August)
7.30pm for an 8pm start
Treeton Miners Welfare Club
Arundel Street, Treeton
Rotherham S60 5PW
Next SAM Committee Meeting
28th August 2024
Details to be arranged