Table of Contents
Editorial
With all the biker fatalities lately it’s time to ensure that your first aid and accident scene management skills are up-to-date. If it’s been some time since you last did a Biker Down course, it might be time to update your skills. You can also do a more intensive first aid course. The Red Cross and St John’s Ambulance run courses regularly. As the roads seem to be more hazardous it could also be time to do a BikeSafe course, or talk to Chris Lund (Chief National Observer) about the new IAM RoadSmart riding refresher courses for SAM members.
In your newsletter this week you can read about the new Can-Am. It looks really rugged. How about going to a a motorcycle rally. There are a few coming up and Liz Hardy (pillioness. Com) has some interesting ideas on how to dress and who to go with. I’ve always loved reading and watching adventure motorcyclists. Just to show it doesn’t matter what you ride, read about the chap who is aiming to do a 7-week ride on a Honda SS 50 moped. Now this is going to be interesting. For something even more intriguing who want to make the fastest Isetta. He used a Yamaha R 6. For another great story read about the university students who built an electric superbike.
Don’t forget that it is the SAM Chair’s Annual Ride Out, meeting at 6.30 pm Meadowhall Retail Park on the 2nd September 2024. There are masses of interesting information to keep you entertained in this week’s newsletter. Until next week, happy reading.
SAM's Autumn Celebration
Online Motorcycling News
General
Given the off-road heritage of the Can-Am brand—from the motocross bikes of the 1970s to the ATVs that reintroduced the name in the ‘90s—it’s surprising that it has taken more than 15 years since the introduction of the Spyder three-wheeler to create a true go-anywhere version of that machine. Now it’s here in the form of the Can-Am Canyon which packs the same 1,330cc triple as the latest Spyder models but in a high-riding adventure model with long-travel suspension and rugged styling. Read more
A motorcycle rally is not exactly a black tie event.
You probably won’t find a less formal weekend than this.
So don’t bother packing a tux for your man in the saddlebags.
And you can leave your diamond tiara behind, too.
That’s a good start.
But there are plenty of other ways to wear the wrong thing at a motorcycle rally.
And as you know, luggage space is limited on a motorcycle.
You need versatile, practical clothes that are comfortable and make you feel confident.
Easy, right?
Sure.
Especially if you avoid making some common mistakes. Read more
Motorcycle rallies can be the most fun weekend you’ve had for ages.
OR they can be a disappointing waste of your precious time and money.
Biker rallies vary widely.
Some are well-organised events with catering, speeches, and rally t-shirts.
Others involve spending the weekend in a local farmer’s top paddock – BYO tent, and a can of beans for dinner.
You need to know what you’re getting into with a biker rally.
And it helps to think it through before you commit. Read more
Rider Safety
It’s my second session on the track and I’ve forgotten which bend is coming up next. Ah. The chicane. Too late – I’m over the kerb, momentarily in the air and on to the grass. I slow down, red-faced, and sweaty-palmed but still upright, while the rest of my group thunders by. I’m quietly relieved when the chequered flag drops and I can check back in with my coach, sit down and recompose myself! Read more…
Adventure & Touring
After establishing residency in South Dakota, we headed south, leaving the Black Hills largely unexplored, and dropped into Nebraska for some straight dirt. Our next major stop was Steamboat Springs, Colorado, to get the KTM 1290 serviced. But the passes were beginning to turn white, and South Dakota had taught us that we were unprepared for what was ahead in Wyoming.
As we entered Wyoming midway along the eastern border, we began pathfinding, meandering through wide-open fields, the first bits of sand and a few dead ends—dead, in as much as the unused tracks dwindled to nothing, with no indication whose land we were on, we respectfully turned around.
A motorcycle mad collector from Romford in Essex has set off on an estimated six- to seven-week riding adventure to Istanbul, Turkey, aboard an air-cooled, four-stroke Honda SS50 moped.
If you’ve never had the pleasure of riding in the Black Hills of South Dakota you’re missing out on some of the best roads the United States has to offer. The rolling hills are tattooed with hundreds of miles of two lane black top connecting the state’s constellation of scenic views. Needles Highway, Spearfish Canyon, Custer State Park, Crazy Horse, Iron Mountain, Mt. Rushmore… the list is endless and the roads are mostly empty… for fifty weeks of the year. During those other two weeks, Sturgis, a town of roughly 7,000 people, transforms into the epicenter of cruiser culture in America. Anywhere from 300,000 to a record 747,000 motorcyclists make their pilgrimage to the Black Hills for one of the largest motorcycle events on earth: The Sturgis Motorcycle Rally.
The Quickshift
- YouTuber Superfast Matt wanted to understand why people ride adventure bikes (ADVs) on off-road adventures
- He and a buddy rode the Colorado BDR to both find out and demonstrate it for this video
- There’s so much more to the world that you can see if you get off the pavement
- It’s not always smooth sailing, though, so you need to have realistic expectations and understanding of your skill level
Not everyone who rides an adventure bike will ever take it on more than a mild trail. And that’s OK. One thing I’ve learned over time is that you have to know your own personal boundaries and what you’re comfortable doing, and you can’t let anyone else (even yourself) talk you into doing something you know deep down you’re not ready to do yet. That’s how you end up in the hospital, or worse. Read more
History & Custom
Back from the Brink: 2LOUD revives a neglected Kymco KTR 150
Many would scoff at the idea of customizing a small commuter motorcycle. But in countries like Taiwan, where 150 cc bikes like the Kymco KTR 150 are prolific, it makes a lot of sense. These utilitarian machines not only qualify for cheaper licensing fees, but they’re also easy to acquire and even easier to work…Read more
The Quickshift
- The BMW Isetta was an urban mobility solution from 1955.
- YouTuber Westen Champlin wanted to make this Isetta more powerful. How? He commissioned a Yamaha R6 to do the job.
- The finished product is fast, loud, and clearly a safety hazard.
The BMW Isetta was BMW’s “urban mobility solution” long before people needed urban mobility solutions. It debuted back in 1955, and was the first production car to have a fuel economy rating of 94 miles per gallon.
The Quickshift
- High-performance electric motorcycles are taking the world by storm
- The Vector-ST from Electric Superbike Twente is a notable example of this.
- It’s a fully electric superbike that was built by a team of students from the University of Twente and the Saxion University of Applied Sciences
High-performance electric two-wheelers always excite me. This is especially true when they’re born on the race track, as a lot of the technology we take for granted on our daily machines were first used in racing.
And while lots of big manufacturers are investing heavily in the EV space, it’s always a good thing when developments surrounding EVs come from students and young professionals who really believe in what they’re doing. After all, nothing can beat the hormone and caffeine-fueled passion of youth, right? Read more
Whiteknights Blood Bikes
Mini photo shoot today for these two 
We had a fantastic talk this evening with Chris, a dedicated volunteer from Whiteknights Yorkshire Blood Bikes.
South Yorkshire Safer Roads Partnership
Fatigue while driving can be fatal.
NEWS: Motorcyclists urged to safely enjoy bank holiday weekend
There is no safe limit for the amount of alcohol you can have before driving.Kevin Williams
Information links – read the extra information
Here’s a very common road sign, so common most of us will pass these without even thinking about it. The obvious danger comes from turning vehicles, but there are several pieces of additional information that we could easily extract from this scene to help us prepare for what COULD happen. We just need to look for them. Read more
Hindsight judgement of fault in crashes
It’s not often I cut and paste big chunks of research papers because as a rule, whilst the content is almost always valuable, it’s often written in a style that takes some penetrating. However, in this particular paper entitled “Hindsight Judgment of Driver Fault in Traffic Accident Analysis”, and subtitled “Misusing the Science of Accident Reconstruction”, I honestly don’t think it needs any reframing. Read more
It’s summer – roads we don’t know & excess arousal
Last week, my article on holiday riding was the first of two on ‘arousal’. Arousal is the state where our cognitive and physiological functions are fully-focused towards alertness and attention, where we are not only able to rapidly process information from our riding environment, but to react rapidly and precisely too. Last week I talked about the problems riding the kind of roads that offer little to challenge us either mentally or physically, and how we can easily drop into a low-arousal state. That leaves us unable to detect, nor react, rapidly and accurately to threats – think motorway pile-up.
Motorcycling Organsiations
IAM RoadSmart
Rural country roads can be unpredictable and can be exceptionally dangerous for motorcyclists. 
Before setting off on a trip this summer, are you up-to-date with the rules of towing on the road? 
National Motorcyclists Council
ding – Health and WellbeingFEMA
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
A few months ago we, SLM, told you the British Motorcyclists Federation (BMF) were taking legal action against Hackney Council over their punitive motorcycle parking charges.
At the time we thought we couldn’t bring the case as an unincorporated organisation. We’ve now found out that we can! We couldn’t establish this before the tight deadline for filing so the BMF stepped up but we’ve now agreed that SLM is the best group to take the case forward as we’ve been leading the campaign in Hackney.
Now we need your help to raise the funds needed to help take Hackney to court. Read more…
New Rider Hub
Warwickshire Road Safety Partnership is hosting a webinar in partnership with National Young Rider Forum for Young Riders and parents on Tuesday 1st October 2024 from 6:30pm-8pm via Teams. 
Motorcycles and scooters are more vulnerable to theft than cars simply because they can be more easily removed, secreted, broken up and disposed of.
The recovery rate of stolen motorcycles and scooters is very low in comparison to cars and larger vehicles.
To combat theft, 2Wheels London has produced some simple tips to follow…Read more…
Next SAM Club Night
2nd September 2024
SAM Chair’s Annual Ride Out
It’s a mystery ride
6.30pm start at
Meadowhall Retail Park
Attercliffe Common
Sheffield S9 2YZ
Next SAM Committee Meeting
28th August 2024
Details to be arranged