Table of Contents
Editorial
Another week and here’s your SAM newsletter. IAM RoadSmart are trialling a new initiative. It’s a 4-hour ‘Rider Development Sessions’, provided by dedicated volunteer Observers. The sessions will be seeking to help riders improve their road experience and boost riding skills. It will be interesting to learn whether it competes with BikeSafe courses.
August is ‘National Road Victims’ Month. We could help to turn tragedy into celebration by showing positive ways to use our highways. Using positive behaviour by road users could be a lot more effective in helping to make the roads safer. Let’s not increase the tally of misery by using out-of context statistics to spread public alarm. In July, a really positive service was delivered by the Whiteknights. They completed 290 jobs and saved the NHS about £14,274.83. Eleven loads of donated breast milk were deposited in the central Milk Bank. There must be some very contented babies sleeping happily. The Whiteknights still need volunteer riders and charity supporters, so if you can help just talk to the local manager, Roy Clark. He’s our membership secretary too!
Kevin Williams gives us a lot of riding advice this week. Junction hazards feature prominently. There’s also a reminder that advanced rider development requires that you first look at your own behaviour, then examine the circumstances in which the near miss, or other mishap took place. Some bikers don’t believe in advanced riding theory. They think that everything can be learnt by simply riding the bike. We disagree. Remember the old saying, ‘ The only place where opportunity and learning can’t be found, is in a closed mind!’ The one thing that every biker should say to themselves when they get out of bed in a morning is: ‘I could be wrong if I haven’t thought about the whole picture!’ Happy reading.
SAM's Autumn Celebration
Online Motorcycling News
General
In Sturgis, the emergency department and urgent care are part of the consolidated Monument Health campus. Days ahead of the Rally, Sturgis’ hospital and clinic were putting safety cones in the parking lot to ensure safe traffic flow for patients. Urgent care services will be available from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. every day during the Rally to alleviate some pressure from the emergency room.
Last October Suzuki unveiled its prototype for a hydrogen-fueled Burgman scooter developed as part of the company’s efforts with the HySE consortium to make hydrogen a viable power source for combustion engine motorcycles and scooters. Now a newly published patent application has revealed a new variation on that design that goes about solving one of the biggest problems with that prototype, namely its size.
Amontons’ Laws of Friction
They do not apply to rubber sliding against pavement. Whenever I refer on this site to tire grip being positively related to tire footprint area, well-intentioned persons write in to correct me, saying that tire footprint area makes no difference to friction. Read more
GIVEAWAY
Thousands raised as MotoGP royalty attend annual Day of Champions event for Two Wheels for Life
The British round of the MotoGP world championship kicked off in style with an auction like no other, raising just shy of £80,000 for the Two Wheels for Life charity through the sale of signed memorabilia, grand prix experiences, race-worn riding kit, photos, and much more. Add in money from admissions to the day and that figure hits £246,000.
Green GSX-R shines in Suzuka | Eco-friendly Suzuki achieves impressive eighth place in endurance race
Team Suzuki CN Challenge raced an experimental GSX-R1000R superbike fitted with multiple greener parts to an impressive eighth place at the 45th Suzuka Eight Hours Endurance race late last month, finishing just four laps down on the winners, Team HRC.
Rider Safety
Motor School with Quinn Redeker: The Art of Being Slow. A little while back, I took a ride up the coast. It was around 75 degrees outside, the sun was shining, and the ocean was waiting just nine miles from my driveway. I remember smiling, a bit embarrassed at myself for getting caught up in the coolness of my Vanson riding jacket and my retro Ray-Ban Wayfarer sunglasses. Maybe I even started feeling like Top Gun’s Maverick – if he wore a helmet. But there I was, effortlessly clicking through gears on my way to a much-needed reset button in the form of sun, sea, and wide-open air. God Bless America! Read more
Summer is finally coming and with it a return to adventure riding. Most of our bikes have spent the colder winter months in storage or undergoing repairs and modifications. As riders we’ve been forced to be content with reading stories and planning trips. If, like me, you are situated in the American southwest, you know how hot it can get even early in the season. Read more
Every adventure bike rider is well aware of the feelings of tiredness and lack of energy associated with hard and long rides. However, we should not rely solely on these subjective feelings of fatigue to decide when to stop and have some rest. In fact, a significant reduction in physical and mental performance can occur well before we feel fatigued. Read more
A few weeks ago, I had a weekend that was both amazingly good and bad. And what you’re about to read here wasn’t a review I ever planned to write, quite honestly.
Nevertheless, after going through an experience where I inadvertently crash-tested this phone case at speed, and had the phone survive intact, I almost feel like I have to tell you about it. Because if I hadn’t lived it, and I was looking for phone case recommendations, I’d want to know. And usually, one of my guiding principles for writing anything is answering questions that I’m personally curious about, because I figure other people might want to know those answers, too.
DfT “Does Not Have A Good Enough Understanding” of UK Road Conditions
A report looking into the way the Department for Transport is maintaining UK roads suggests that there is margin for improvement Read more
Part III of Why Teslas are Deadly to Motorcyclists
Remember when the NHTSA found over 2 million Tesla models with a defective “Autosteer” function? Given recent news, Musk’s tech hasn’t really changed – and per usual, the problem lies in the fact that Tesla’s autopilot still can’t find two-wheeled machines when it counts the most. Read more
Adventure & Touring
Your life can change in an instant.
That’s not a cliche; it’s a simple truth. Neither you nor I know what’s going to happen next. A day might start like normal, then instantly become something else faster than we can blink. And that something else might literally change your life. Read more
I finally met that gullible guy who was willing take on the challenge. It would take a few years, but time would eventually shape him into the riding partner I’d always wanted to share life with.
The evolution had begun, and after teaching him the ropes of off-road riding in the first year of our relationship, we decided the inaugural “big trip” would be the Colorado Backcountry Discovery Route (COBDR). We would take two weeks to ride from the southern part of Colorado to the northern edge and have enough time in between to do some climbing and exploring. Since he was an avid climber, I figured we’d better bring the climbing gear since this dirt biking thing was still new to him. And I was concerned he’d become bored, so climbing would be a good outlet during our trip. Read more
History & Custom
The North Star: Deus ex Machina’s stunning Yamaha XT500 restomod
In the world of classic thumpers, the Yamaha XT500 reigns supreme. It pioneered the concept of four-stroke dual-sport bikes, won the first two Paris Dakar rallies, and garnered legions of fans along the way. It’s hard to meet someone who hasn’t owned an XT500, known someone who’s owned one, or dreamt of owning one. Given…Read more
Whiteknights Blood Bikes
Here are our call-out statistics for July 2024.
Happy Yorkshire Day from the all the volunteers at Whiteknights Yorkshire Blood Bikes.We are proud to be serving Yorkshire!
National Blood shortage Amber alert The recent London hospital cyber attack, combined with unfilled appointments at Donor Centres in town and city centres, has caused stocks of O type blood to drop to unprecedented low levels.South Yorkshire Safer Roads Partnership
Think about those who have lost a loved one.
August is National Road Victims’ Month:
Highlight the staggering number of people killed and injured on the UK’s roadsTo remember the many people who have been killed needlessly on our roads – Over 500,000 people have been killed on the UK’s roads since records began in 1926To show our unwavering support for the many road crash victims and bereaved families who have suffered the tragic loss of a loved one in a road crashTo honour the work of the emergency services who respond to road crashes day in, day out and acknowledge the mental and physical impact that this has on them. You can find out more hereKevin Williams
COMMENT Aug 5 Tesla in full self-driving mode rear-ends, kills rider
[FROM YESTERDAY’S ELEVENSES LIVE WEBCAST]
Crash investigators from the Washington State Patrol have information downloaded from the event-data recorder – a piece of technology fitted to new vehicles that I was talking about just a couple of shows ago – to determine that the driver of a Tesla that hit and killed a motorcyclist in Monroe in April was operating the vehicle in the ‘Full Self-Driving’ mode at the time of the crash. Read more
It’s summer – that means it’s harvest time
Over the last couple of days I’ve run a couple of very different training days, a ‘train the trainer’ session where I role-played for an experienced rider who is already a CBT / DAS instructor but who is looking to gain qualifications to train with the IAM and RoSPA, and possibly for himself. Read more.
Do we need to understand theory to be good riders?
For many years, I’ve been involved on internet motorcycle forums, where I attempt to deliver good and practical advice to riders who’ve asked a specific question about riding knowledge or technique. When the question is about a practical skill, I almost always take the time to explain a bit of the theory underlying my answer. Unfortunately, it usually doesn’t take long for someone else to say:
“Forget all that theory stuff, just go ride the bike and you’ll soon pick it up.”
“Look right, look left, look right again.”
That’s what I was taught as a child in order to cross the road. Why do so many riders (and drivers too) seem to forget this? As a bike trainer at every level from newbie to experienced, it’s something I’ve had to remind riders at all levels from total novice on their first few minutes of the CBT road ride to advanced riders with a hatful of certificates who should really know better. Read more
Motorcycling Organsiations
IAM RoadSmart
How familiar are you with drink-drive law and statistics in the UK? 
Steve Harcus: After over 40 years riding I did the advanced rider course over the winter.
National Motorcyclists Council
Today’s King’s Speech has set out the Government’s priorities for the new parliamentary session. Although nearly 40 new Bills point to a busy session for both MPs and Ministers, there is so far little in the way of announcements in areas of direct relevance to motorcycling. Although measures are planned in a new Crime and Policing Bill to create new powers to tackle the dangerous and anti social use of off-road bikes and another Bill on product safety will aim to address battery safety for eBikes, there is no specific Transport Bill. Rail and Bus privatisation are to be dealt with via specifically targeted Bills.
Be nice to know what progress the NMC is making in representing motorcyclists to the UK Government? (ed)
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.
British Motorcyclists Federation
Do you live or travel to London?Then you need to be aware that Transport for London (TfL) has launched a consultation on a proposed “toll” to use the Silvertown and Blackwall tunnels to be introduced in spring 2025, that includes a plan to also charge motorcycles using the tunnels. The current proposed charges are set out below. The fee will be the same for both tunnels, but they will vary in peak and off-peak times. As they currently stand, the plans will see motorcycles being charged a slightly reduced price to car and vans during peak times but the same as cars at off-peak time
The BMF has joined forces with the Motorcyclists Action Group (MAG) to fight illogical and ill-conceived proposals by the local Council to introduce emission-based parking charges for motorcycles across Bath and North East Somerset. Read more hereNew Rider Hub
HIGHWAY CODE
We’re going to level with you – making the Highway Code seem sexy is a difficult job.
But it is, nonetheless, important to familiarise yourself with the rules of the road.
- Buy the Highway Code (£4.99)
We know it’s a long read – so here are our key takeaways to help you stay safe:
You need to know that CBT’s may not always be completed in a single day.
Get ready for a long day as the CBT course should last for at least 5 to 8 hours. You will be taught elements in turn and when you are safe to go onto the next element then you progress through all the five stages. The CBT course is completely safety orientated so if you can’t complete all the stages on the day, then a rest and a return later is the best and safest way to progress.
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 Road
Sheffield S9 2YZ
Next SAM Committee Meeting
28th August 2024
Details to be arranged