Sheffield Advanced Motorcyclists – Weekly newsletter 25th April 2025
Editorial
What is the most expensive bike you can own? Answer: the one that is a problem to ride, whose operation is not mastered and can be very difficult to help you get out of trouble when you need it!
The weather has been cooler and more changeable of late, but this hasn’t put off SAM riders. The winter lining and waterproof oversuits will be in use until there is a settle spell of warm weather. As the money for road repairs and implementing transport strategies, gets doled out, Local Councils are hard at work planning their transport strategies for the next few years. Some councils, notably London, Suffolk and Leeds have recognised the the cost-effectiveness and sustainability of motorcycles. However, many Councils, including Sheffield, limit discussion forums to walking, cycling, public and disability transport provision. How can councils educate themselves about a mode of transport if they don’t provide a public forum where transport users can contribute to the strategic plans being made on their behalf? Sadly, many authorities continue to parrot the casualties from riding a motorcycle. The absence of context simply gives a distorted view of any perceived or imagined risks to riders. Another example is that of the early reports on the effect of implementing 20mph zones. Whilst there may be reports of reductions on accidents, what is the economic cost of limiting traffic speed to the delivery of local businesses and welfare services? Just a thought.
To combat an aging motorcycling population in the UK, many manufacturers are actively pursuing campaigns to encourage young people to ride. Bike sales were up 8% in March compared to March 2024. Yamaha, KTM, BMW, Ducati and Piaggio are tackling the slowdown in sales head on. Affordable financing, insurance, vouchers for accessories and discounted second-hand bikes may stimulate an uptake in the number of riders. Vendors are pushing the eco-friendly and wallet-friendly attractive features of motorcycles as a personal transport choice. It’s now that we need much more progress on improving rider safety in highway infrastructure, more support for rider training and improved security at riding destinations.
The Department for Transport, seemingly, continues to ignore the pleas from motorcycling organisations to speed up the review of the education, training, testing and licencing of motorcyclists. Once again, as in the case of electric scooters, the market will outrun Ministers and Civil servants. Meanwhile SAM will continue to work hard to offer quality assured advanced rider training to serve our local community in making the roads a little safer.
Lastly, it was the Sheffield Children’s Hospital Egg Run this week. Local motorcyclists doing what they enjoy most, dressing up and raising funds for local charities. Thank you! There is a lot to enjoy in this week’s newsletter, so ride safe and happy reading.
Your success is our success!
Advanced riders are safer road users, ride longer, rider further, meet more people and enjoy a healthier, happier life!
For Your Diary
Meetings
Next SAM Club Night
5th May 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
1st May 2025
Details to be arranged
Online Motorcycling News
General
Doing what South Yorkshire motorcyclists do best!
Hundreds join huge motorbike Egg Run to Weston Park for Sheffield Children’s Hospital. The riders rode from the South Yorkshire Police base at Europa Link to Weston Park, bring Easter Eggs for youngsters at the children’s hospital.
The were led by former motorcycle racing world champion James Toseland.
Take a look at the video on this link to see what happened. Read more…
Last weekend, ABATE of Iowa hosted the 35th Annual Heartland STEAM event in Bettendorf, IA. Riders from Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin gathered to share information about how the Motorcycle Riders Foundation (MRF) and state motorcyclist rights organizations are tackling issues facing the motorcycling community.
A diverse set of presentations occurred over the two-day seminar. Some of the highlights included MRF President Kirk “Hardtail” Willard’s speech, “Wheels, What Makes Our World Go Around,” MRF Executive Director Ryan Hubbard’s “Principles of Leadership” presentation and an update on legislative action from the member states. As always, there were breakout sessions that allowed riders to learn more about issues they care about. Read more…
Owning a motorcycle collection is every biker’s dream, but how do you look after so many bikes at once?
Here we provide a list of top tips for keeping your motorcycle collection in mint condition, so you can enjoy the roads on two wheels.
Fixing your motorcycle collection
It’s fairly safe to assume that if you’ve got a collection of motorcycles you enjoy riding them and are also interested enough in them to learn a lot about them. This should include how to fix them, in particular getting an idea of which components are most likely to need replacing. Read more…
A second-hand motorcycle is the easiest way to get on the road without needing to pummel your savings into oblivion, but you need to take care that your great deal isn’t going to turn into a great deal of trouble.
Here’s some of the biggest red flags to watch for when you’re looking for a bargain.
Too good to be true?
There’s nothing like finding a great bargain, but if it’s being priced too low you should immediately pay more attention to it to make sure you’re not being sold a dud. 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...
Tips on choosing a trickle charger for your laid-up motorbike
by Frazer Ansell
April 15, 2025
Whether you’re choosing to lay up your bike for the winter or for another reason, it’s well worth investing in a trickle charger to make sure you’re ready to go when you decide to get it back on the road.
In this blog, we’re taking a look at how to choose a trickle charger for your laid-up motorcycle and what trickle chargers may work for you. Keep reading to find out more. Read more…
We’ve all heard the phrase ‘you go where you look’. It’s part and parcel of motorcycle training as well as common sense. Since learning how to cross the road as a youngster, or when taking the cycling proficiency test (a darn sight trickier than a CBT, some might think), we’ve had it instilled in us to look both ways, often twice. Yet a report from the UK Department for Transport in 2023 suggested that the most common crash contributary factor is ‘the driver or motorcyclist failed to look properly’. A little haunting, don’t you think? Read more…
Back in March 2020 the Government published a consultation into proposals to make E10 the standard 95-octane petrol on UK forecourts – doubling the amount of ethanol allowed in petrol to the concern of many riders. Despite concerns raised by many respondents about the potential damage that E10 could cause to their vehicles the rules were pushed through into legislation and came into force in September 2021.Read more…
Eurogrip: pushing the limits of performance and innovation
Eurogrip is an international motorcycle tyre brand, developed with a strong focus on research, innovation, and rigorous testing. At the heart of its technological advancements is its cutting-edge R&D center in Italy, where a team of specialists designs and refines tyres using state-of-the-art simulation and development tools. These tyres undergo strict indoor and outdoor testing,…Read more…
It’s a beautiful day as my bike effortlessly glides around the bend; suddenly, the rider discovers that the road is tightening up and, being experienced he responds with lightning fast reflexes—closing the throttle and pushing the bike deeper into the lean….
As he lies in the ditch listening to the approaching siren, he’s still trying to figure out what went wrong. Sifting through all of the fancy talk, concepts, and advice, the reality is that each of us are dealing with a brain that has only evolved to travel at four MPH—not at 30, 60, or 100 MPH.
We’re all operating within the perimeters of a brain that, although it’s been evolving over millions of years, still clings to many obsolete behaviors. Within those confines, it’s fear that causes us to brake early, turn the bike too soon, dump the throttle in the middle of the corner, tense up, and keeps us from mastering visual acuity.
Understanding and knowing how to cope with fear is how one advances to the next skill level as a rider. Fear is the reaction our brain manifests in survival mode; the byproduct of which are reactions that are often the opposite of what we need to do when riding a motorcycle, interfering with riding ability, or worse, causing a crash. Read more…
Crate escape! Police seize stolen bike haul just hours before it was due to be shipped abroadSeveral high-value motorcycles stolen from the South East have been recovered in crates in Birmingham – just hours before they were due to be shipped abroad.The collection of four bikes, made up of three Yamahas – namely a Ténéré 700, XSR700 and MT-07 and one unidentified Honda, were found thanks to a BikeTrac tracker fitted to the Ténéré. Read more…
Keeping cool under braking: Nissin and Showa partnership aims for more efficient caliper concepts. Suspension heavyweights Showa are teaming up with brake experts Nissin to develop new, more efficient technologies for both systems.
Both companies are owned by Japanese automotive tech brand Astemo, opening up intriguing opportunities for suspension and brakes to be co-developed in a way that improves both sets of components.
Astemo – standing for ‘Advanced Sustainable Technologies for Mobility’ – is a combination of Showa, Nissin and fuel injection maker Keihin, and was set up in 2021 by electronics giant Hitachi and Honda. Read more…
Adventure & Touring
I’ve spent the last six years travelling the world via motorbike. When I left home in the south of England, I had no idea of where it would lead me. With a one-way ticket to India, I’d figure it out from there. Being an extreme sports and motorbike fanatic, some would say it was inevitable I’d end up travelling the world this way. But after a while, I started seeking something outside of the usual road trips—something you aren’t likely to find on a tour or in a magazine article… the next level.
Indonesia was a country that had never been high on my must-see list, but it turned out to be the best place I ever visited. I landed in Bali, found a Kawasaki KLX150, and set off looking for any dense forests, jungles and anything that looked like it would be fun. However, after locating one jungle trail, the deeper I got into it the more I began to panic. Although I was enjoying every minute of the experience, fear got the best of me and I decided to head back to base. It was a pattern I’d repeat several times before re-evaluating my approach. Read more…
The UK is home to some of the greatest landscapes and roads in the world, but which are the best ones that are worth a visit?
We’ve gathered a list of some of the best UK motorcycle routes and roads for you to enjoy on your two wheels. Read more…
Legendary explorer Nick Sanders partners with Royal Enfield for 30,000km European epic on a Bear 650Round the world motorcycle explorer Nick Sanders has partnered with Royal Enfield on a 30,000km adventure around the edge of Europe on a Bear 650 retro twin.Setting off at the end of March, the 11-time round-the-world traveller is riding anti-clockwise, hugging the coastline where possible. He’ll go as far north as Nordkapp, Norway, within the Arctic Circle, and skirt round the edge of Ukraine. Read more…
History & Custom
Bull Ring: A taurine Triumph Bonneville scrambler from Spain
The Spanish workshop Tamarit Motorcycles has been in business for a decade, focusing almost exclusively on Triumph modern classics. So they know the Triumph Bonneville inside out—and they know how to transform it into just about anything. Tamarit Motorcycles has used this experience to build a stacked catalog of bolt-on Triumph parts and a handful… Read more…
Kevin Williams
Verge Motorcycles has broken the Guinness World Record for the longest journey by an electric motorbike on a single charge. The record-breaking distance of 193 miles (310 kilometres) was achieved on a Verge TS Pro in London on 22 March.
The trip involved riding through suburban areas inside the London M25 ring road, with traffic conditions said to be typical of a big city.
Verge Motorcycles CMO, Lauri Laukkanen, said:
“This world record is an amazingly proud moment for the entire Verge team. We have been developing the efficiency, driveability, and features of our motorbikes for years, and we wanted to show the world that anything is possible. This record is a concrete demonstration of what our unique technology and proprietary architecture are actually capable of.” Read more…
Rediscover the Ride Part 6 – Clutch control & hairpins
So far in this series I’ve discussed some issues riders seem to have with the gears and suggested some exercises to help improve their use. But what about when you need what a training colleague of mine used to explain as ‘half a gear’?
What he was talking about was slipping the clutch of course, since slipping the clutch allows us to find a ‘fraction’ of first gear to maintain forward drive at really low speed.
And if there’s one place having great clutch control really matters is going around tight corners when positive drive is needed to keep the machine moving…
…and thus balanced! Read more…
Why bikers see other motorcycles more easily
When I was researching the background to the ‘Science Of Being Seen’, the third module for the pilot ‘Biker Down’ courses, one of the real eye-openers – if you’ll forgive me the expression – was Dr David Eagleman’s series on ‘The Brain’, which just happened to be on the BBC at that time.
Amongst the many fascinating observations in the series was an exploration of how our conscious perception of the world around is filtered by the combination of our visual system and our relationship with the world around us. As I have repeated many times, it’s much more complex than most people realise, because our visual system doesn’t operate like a video camera simply recording whatever falls within its field of view. Read more…
“A good rider never crashes”
A while ago I read statement on a motorcycle forum: “…no rider can stand in judgement of another unless he’s got a longer crash-free record. Anyone else pontificating on other people’s riding has no evidence for their assertions. Point being, the only worthwhile measure of skill with regard to motorcycles is the duration of incident-free riding.”
Phew.
A crash-free history isn’t a good guide to competence. Ideally none of us would crash but there’s always that risk with any vehicle and motorcycles are more likely to crash than most. But what I do need to ensure is that a crash has a positive learning outcome. I need to understand how I got there and how I can avoid getting into the same situation again. Read more…
Why do riders fail to spot tricky corners?
When you’re out on a Survival Skills training course, you’re not just out on a ‘nice ride’, though I do try to ensure the routes take in some decent scenery; routes are carefully chosen to offer a riding environment that is:
a) is risk assessed (but that doesn’t mean the roads won’t pose real problems – it just means I can warn you if you don’t appear to have spotted it!)
b) matched to the specific training activity
c) progressively increase in complexity as the course develops to provide a continually increasing challenge which allows the trainee develop skills in a progressive manner Read more…
Whiteknights Blood Bikes
Thank you to colleagues & customers at Tesco Store Brighouse for presenting Whiteknights Yorkshire Blood Bikes with £384 raised through charitable book sales.South Yorkshire Safer Roads Partnership
As the number of vehicles continues to increase resulting in busier roads, this means these routes are becoming much more challenging to use, especially for vulnerable road users like horse riders and carriage drivers. Our aim is to reduce the number of incidents and fatalities involving horses and riders on the road by involving and guiding all road users how to pass a horse safely. Our campaign is to inform drivers what to do if they encounter a horse on the road.
The BHS collates statistics each year to understand the rate of incidents involving horses and riders on UK roads. All statistics shown below are from 01.01.2024 – 31.12.2024. Read more…
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
Motorcycling Organisations
IAM RoadSmart
Has it been a while since you passed your Advanced test? 
Research shows that companies whose workers participate in driving efficiency training see up to 14% improvement on fuel consumption, with the potential to save thousands at the pump and on tyre wear
There are also huge environmental savings to be had: if a fleet of 100 adopted ‘eco driving’, 69 tonnes of CO2 emissions would be cut; the equivalent produced driving a car around the world 14 times
‘Eco-driving’ helps drivers develop a calmer and more efficient driving style, helping to reduce collisions and making the UK’s roads safer Read more…
Are you aware of the OAP framework when out riding? 
Motorcycle Action Group
As the Government shapes its Integrated National Transport Strategy (INTS), MAG is leading the charge to prove that mopeds, scooters, and motorcycles are vital. They are a practical, sustainable transport future. With congestion clogging Britain’s roads and emissions targets looming, this is the moment for riders to ride loud and proud.
MAG’s vision – submitted to the INTS call for ideas – highlights how motorcycling slashes traffic. Motorcycles cut emissions and give people real travel choice: urban and rural alike. On 10 June, riders will turn that vision into action, demonstrating how two wheels ease gridlock, from London’s rush hour to Cornwall’s winding lanes.
“This isn’t just a day—it’s a movement,” says Colin Brown, MAG’s Director of Campaigns & Political Engagement. “We’ve told the Government what motorcycling can do; now we’ll show them.” Read more…
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
Motorcyclists are among the most vulnerable road users and yet road infrastructure across Europe and beyond is often designed with cars in mind. While protective gear and riding skills play a role in rider safety, there’s a critical element that often gets overlooked: the roads themselves.
If we are serious about reducing motorcycle accidents and fatalities, we need to stop treating riders as an afterthought in infrastructure planning. Instead, let’s prioritize them with smart, safety-driven changes. Here’s how we can start: 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… 
Two Wheels for Life, the charity which provides motorcycles for health workers in sub-Saharan Africa, is now offering a free will writing service. Applicants can write their will online, by phone and there’s even a limited number of face-to-face solicitor appointments available, all for free. All are provided by Farewill, the UK’s biggest will writing service.
Now you might expect that Two Wheels for Life is expecting any successful applicant to leave them a healthy legacy, but apparently not. “It is not essential to leave us a gift in your will when using our free wills service,” reads a statement on the charity’s website, “but we’d love you to consider giving to Two Wheels after taking care of those important to you.” 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…Read more.
Look after your bike/moped and it will look after you. Carrying out a few simple checks before each ride could save your life. Use POWDERS
Petrol
- Do you have enough for your journey?
- Is the reserve tap off?
- Check there are no leaks Read more…
Ride into the season
Oi Oi! Riding season is well and truly upon us! 😎
The nights are getting lighter and the days warmer. Happy days!
But at this time of the year, it is important to always wear the gear and make sure your bike is in tip-top condition.
Click the boxes below to find out more. You might just learn something 😉 …
