Tranquil time out No.2

Would love to have this as my shop

I have not been riding for a few weekends, just catching up on some other things about home as well as spending a lot of time working out my next motorcycle tour plan.

Decided to put my money where my mouth is and purchase some items to try and meet the 10 point visibility as suggested in my last post. Once these arrive I shall review and do a follow up article. Things I have looked at are marker lights, LED taillights and  brighter coloured jacket.

That jacket will be a winter replacement for my Alpinestars leather jacket which while needing a zipper pull lug replaced is otherwise in perfect condition. I simply have put on some kilos around the middle during the many years I have owned it and so while it still fits being a sports cut jacket it now rides up a bit. Not actually designed as a winter jacket it worked fine here in the sub tropics with our mild winters however I will get myself a true winter jacket next to equip myself for other places.

Not been reading many motorcycle reviews of late, quite happy with the Buell still. About time I changed the oil and filter on it – which is all the minor service is really. Not much to worry about, the only item I know needs keeping an eye on with them is wheel bearings however I am not able to access those easy so might put it in the shop for the major services – then again will the mechanics there  actually look closely at them. Very economical motorcycles to own, fuel economy is amazing and if you can handle simple oil change then service costs are next to nothing.

I can see myself on a full tourer one day, perhaps something from BMW, however I ponder what the service costs would be, and how frequent I would have to negotiate time off work to get those done (perhaps more bothersome than the money) Would like to see Harley Davidson update their touring line to go somewhere in between where they are and the class leader BMW, ie keep the big torque push rod twin and keep the retro style but improve the ground clearance, loose some kilos and ensure it has electronic cruise control, trip computer, good suspension and ABS brakes.

Yeah I know I have weird ideas. Read some more of them via the Motorcycle Paradise Facebook page .

Be Seen, Be Safe

I received an email from a Motorcycle Paradise reader recently who has been injured when an elderly driver pulled out in front of him.

His headlight was on and his motorcycle was brightly coloured yet the driver apparently didn’t see him. He is in hospital now and wrote one handed to tell me his story which has really got me thinking about what studies have been done about this problem.

The Minnesota Motorcycle Safety Centre has some great information for riders. I decided to revisit their site which I came across a few years ago remembering it had some information about being visible to drivers.

There are 20 things listed that a rider can do to make themselves more visible and information on each about how effective it actually is. Headlights on during daytime which I  tend to rely on rates rather poorly. Additionally each item has a number of points attached to it and they suggest a rider should aim to reach a score of 10 points to have good visibility to other vehicles.

Here is the list, click on any to get that items report.

1. Fluorescent/Reflective safety vest. 4 points. The most effective way to be seen is a high-vis fluro safety vest or a jacket in high-vis fluro.

2. White Helmet. 3 points. A study in New Zealand showed riders with a white helmet 24% less likely to be involved in multi-vehicle accident.

3. Brightly coloured jacket. 2 points.  Makes sense a bright colour jacket will be better than a dark or neutral one.

4. Strategic positioning. 2 points. Careful lane positioning can keep you in cars mirrors or line of sight, I think we all know this but sometimes forget.

5. Headlight Modulation. 1 point Unfortunately pulsing of headlight would fall under our no flashing of headlights law, but for places where it is legal then good idea. Update, Headlight modulators are legal on motorcycles! I have been advised that contrary to my initial post they are legal. QLD legislation here, other states I am told are same.

6. Taillight Modulation. 1 point. Again legalities I am not 100% on here, however fitting an additional LED tail/brake light is perfectly legal and if that one flashed once then stays solid under braking then it would be fine. These flash once type are available aftermarket.

7. Reflective Materials. 1 Point. This relates to after dark having reflective tape or decals on your bike or piping on your clothes so you stand out from side or rear more.

8. Movement. 1 point.  Moving about a bit in your lane will draw attention. Vary your speed slightly and position to make drivers not forget you.

9. Auxiliary driving lights. 1 point. This one is interesting. The idea is to draw attention by having extra lights to your headlight to form a triangle a method developed by trains to be noticed by drivers quicker.

10. Hand Signals. 1 point. Illegal here as law states hands and legs cannot leave bars/pegs while riding. Principle makes sense, something not often seen so will bring attention to you.
From here the items get much less effective or practical.

11. Avoid riding at night. ½ a point.  May not be possible but sure fire way to eliminate some risk if you can avoid it.

12. Avoid riding at dawn or dusk. ½ a point. Yep that is a dangerous time even with zero cars as very real risk of Skippy jumping out in front of you in Australia.

13. Aftermarket horn. ½ a point. Will not make you more visible, however sure would be handy for drivers that merge into your lane on highways.

14. Marker lights. ½ a point. We don’t have this system, some states in the USA have their vehicles indicators on full time. Would be a good thing for motorcycles here I think.

15. Avoid riding in poor weather. ½ a point. We all know how many accidents happen in the rain due to poor visibility, again not always possible but perhaps something many social riders comply to.

16. Avoid riding during low sun in the sky time of day. ½ a point.    Again difficult to do but a worthy tip as the facing the sun when low can blind both cars and motorcycles, especially entering shaded sections of country road.

17. Bike profile.1/2 a point. A study has shown the shape of a motorcycle can impact on visibility. Sounds feasible to me that a huge bike will be seen more than a small one. Not really helpful for most people.

18. Bike colour. ½ a point. The same study found that motorcycle colour was not a factor in crash involvement however logic says yellow is slightly better than black or gray.

19. High beam in daytime. ¼ of a point. Yep told you it would be a surprise. Most riders think this will make them seen however a study unfortunately found it is not effective.

20. Unusual effects. ¼ of a point. Anything out of the ordinary affixed to you or you bike that might draw attention to it.

At first when riding I paid only a passing interest to my visibility. More recently I have tried to do something, I have a white helmet and have installed HID headlights which seem to be very bright in the daytime. I think however I am going to step it up a notch and factor this into my upcoming winter jacket shopping.

Take away the ‘avoid riding’ items above and the horn and see how many points you have for a fine days ride. Did you make 10?  I sure didn't but I think I can easy improve my score with a couple of the above ideas.


Update: Here is an interesting article about motion camouflage - Why Motorcycles are Invisible.

The top 10 Motorcycle tours in the world

Update. Well since I wrote this I have started to ride the top 10. Elsewhere on this blog you can find my ride reports for Europe Alps, North America, Japan and New Zealand. I probably have a different view on things now so maybe I will write a new version of this but until then here is my original post.

Have you ever thought about all the great places that exist to ride a motorcycle around the world.

I do, quite often. Most of my international travel has not involved a motorcycle however I have noted when travelling many places with excellent roads. TV travel shows to a limited degree give ideas on what great riding might exist in a area, certainly The Tour de France each year whets my appetite with the amazing footage of the roads the riders travel over.

The places I really let my thoughts run wild is the ride reports posted on some of the superior touring forums such as Sport Touring USA forum and Pashnit motorcycle forum. I can while away a few hours every now and again just looking at the photos let alone reading the many varied stories of peoples rides around the world.

I have put together a top 10 list of places I want to ride in the world, actually I have had this list for a while now however this is the first time I am publishing it. I do so as the first step to actually riding the list. They say if you think about something enough then it can happen and I can reveal that I am planning a ride from my list for later this year and shall write more when I have something concrete.

The top motorcycle rides I want to do in my life then are as follows:

1. Europe. The classic European alpine countries. First place goes to what is one of the most popular riding areas for motorcycle tours, the many varied loops from Germany via Switzerland, Italian Dolomites and Austria. I drove an old camper van over some of these roads when I was much younger and there is some amazing scenery and superb roads. The switchback mountain passes that feature in many photos are not my cup of tea really as I prefer flowing roads to hairpin corners however some of that action would be fine to get to those views and there is still every other kind of corner on offer in this part of the world. There are many many tours available in this area and afterwards I would take the time to see a bit more of Germany which I have wanted to do since I was last briefly there.

2. North America. The Rocky Mountains. The ride I have in mind stretches from the Canadian British Columbia down through Montana, Wyoming to Colorado, or visa-versa. I have driven around British Columbia, down the Icefields Parkway and was amazed at the scenery and roads. I have to admit to previously not really knowing much about the incredible riding and scenery on offer in the USA Rocky mountains. If you talk to people here about riding USA they mostly will mention Route 66 and Sturgis and maybe the Tail of the Dragon but not much else and I used to be the same. Some reading in recent years has totally changed my view and I started to plan a ride similar to the above mentioned route for this year however have shelved it for now due to my holidays being at the wrong time of the year. It would be tempting to try and do more whilst there but I think that ride would be big enough so perhaps I would hire a American V8 and drive back to the west coast via the deserts and perhaps take in Vegas and the Canyon before flying home. 

3. Japan. A place still largely unexplored by riders from other countries yet boasting alps as big as Europe with no expense spared perfect roads and amazing scenery. I just got the April edition of BikeJin Japanese rider magazine with the top Japanese motorcycle roads as voted by their readers. Here is a countdown for your information:

13. (tie) Zaou Ecoline
13. (tie) Mikata Goko Rainbow Line
13. (tie) Tatsudomari Line
13. (tie) Hachimantai Aspite Line
12. Choukai Blue Line
11. Tsunoshima Big Bridge
10. Chirihama Nagisa Driveway
9. Aso Panorama Line
8. Kouya Ryuujin Skyline
8. (tie) Shimanami-kaido
6. Shiretoko Oudan Road
5. Izu Skyline
4. Shiga Kusatsu Road
3. Yamanami Highway
2. Venus Line
1. Bandai Azuma Skyline

I will be back in Japan sooner or later and will again hire a motorbike for a few days. I rode No 2 and No 4 last time (my blog header picture is from The Venus Line) and I will definitely ride the Izu Skyline next time and when I work out where the rest are I will see what others I can get to. A map of some here.

4. Europe. The Pyrenees, France and Spain. Back to Europe because the alps cover too much ground to try and ride in one tour unless you have a lot of time. The French and Spanish alps are said to be less touristy and better to ride than the traditional alpine areas. I think if you ride the other off season then that argument may be void. However watching Le Tour each year I nearly drool looking at the roads in this area and have been known to talk out loud to myself while viewing Le Tour saying something like “goddam I must ride that road” – usually after a few glasses of wine. The roads over the border in Spain also look fantastic and many riders claim these offer the best riding in the whole of Europe with beautiful surveying and great surfaces with little to no cars or enforcement.

5. New Zealand. The Southern Alps. Again another place I have checked out via 4 wheels and firmly want to return and ride. I actually have a ride for NZ worked out based on places I drove and what I have researched. I also have the NZ top 100 motorcycle road atlas, the sister publication to the excellent Australian top 100 motorcycle road atlas which I based some of my driving holiday on and will use to further refine my ride when I go. At this stage I am looking at March 2011, probably just for a week as that is plenty to cover the flights the route I have in mind and still have a rest day, its not a big place. Flights to New Zealand from Australia are cheap as is accommodation there. The only costly item is motorcycle hire which of course is much more expensive than car hire like it is anywhere, that's why one week will make it a very affordable tour. Above photo from an amazing photographer who toured NZ.

6. North America. North Carolina to Nova Scotia. I have never been to the East coast and have long thought about doing a holiday there, especially in Autumn however now I am going make it a riding holiday when it happens. Riding vs car or rail means I will do so by myself (or perhaps with a group tour) but not with a friend or a partner as they do not want to travel on the back of a bike. Alas so be it. Time won’t stop to let me do it all to suit other and myself  and life is not a dress rehearsal. I have not worked on this ride much but at first glance am thinking i would get a motorbike in Boston and ride up to Nova Scotia then back via the Green mountains area before dropping in to the Smoky mountains area to ride down to the Tail of the Dragon and then fly out from the nearest Eagle rider bike rental depot. This is a big ride but since its a one way tour I think it is doable. 

7. Scandinavia. Norway. I have held a long interest in the culture and landscapes of the Scandinavian countries dating back to when I had a penfriend in Norway when I was younger. I drove around there a long time ago in a camper van on what was my Aussie camping type road trip around Europe. There are some famous roads in Norway, the Eagle road and the Trolls road to mention a couple, these are consistently rated amongst the most scenic roads in the world. When I was there I got to the bottom of both but a longer then normal winter that year meant they were still closed to traffic. The great thing about Norway is the best riding is all within easy striking distance of Bergen so there are a couple of tour operators that have a base there which would be a good way to tackle it I think. Afterwards perhaps hire a car or take the train back down through Sweden and Denmark to take in those places before returning home.

8. Mediterranean islands. Corsica, Sardinia & Sicily. These 3 islands hold some incredible roads that like Spain have riders consistently rating as some of the best riding to be found anywhere. I wanted to visit Sicily long before finding out it was a good ride. I missed out on getting there previously due to Best Flights travel company stuffing up my travel arrangements the first and last time I tried them. This year I again was looking to go there however I changed my mind due to not being able to find what I wanted at the time of year I have my holidays. It would be good to try and combine some riding in the Italian mainland or perhaps the south of France with this tour and indeed some organized tours seem to offer this sort of route.



9. Australia. Tasmania via East coast. Now I am not saying the above countries are better than the riding here because each is special in its own way and Australia too has it’s own amazing riding – you may have noticed a post or two by me about it! This however is such a long ride for me that I put it later in my list as I may not achieve it for some time. I estimate the riding would easily exceed 10,000km, plus the ferry crossing and about 4 weeks on the road makes this a huge journey. Ideally I would like to do this ride with no timetable, that means maybe needing 6 weeks and really having the time to examine much more along the way. Naturally I would revisit the many roads I have listed on this blog as well as try find some more to report to you either side of Tassie. On the apple isle there are no shortage of great roads to ride and I would base the tour on what I already know to be the best from other ride reports and the trusty top 100 rides atlas.



10. South Africa. Capetown to Jo’burg. I first got the idea of riding South Africa from reading new motorcycle launch reviews that seemed to happen there quite often. The roads look very scenic along the ocean with great curves. Certainly the test riders never wrote a bad thing about the riding except to say watch out for the odd monkey. I have not explored all the riding on offer there and more or less would want to do a organized tour due to safety concerns however the route along the coast of the Western and Eastern Cape looks great. Then the tour I have looked at goes over some mountains and includes a wildlife tour at the Kruger National Park which I think would be an amazing experience. It’s a long way to South Africa from East Coast of Australia so I would want to break up the journey somehow but I really have not planned more on this trip thus far.

Joe Rocket boots review

I have purchased some new riding footwear and have chosen a pair of Joe Rocket Meteor boots.

I am starting at the bottom in putting together an outfit suitable for riding in colder places. That could be southern Australia or New Zealand or beyond. Basically here in the tropics even my full winter setup is designed around the fact that it never is really properly cold.

I decided I wanted to go for a 3/4 boot that was waterproof. Larger than this becomes less easy to walk in and wear under pants. Being waterproof I think is important if touring in a cold place and striking a wet day. I have 2 sets of over boots however they are made to cover shoes not large boots and are a short term solution in my opinion. The neoprene ones are good for getting past a shower or storm but will allow water to sneak past after a few hours, the plastic ones will keep the water out for as long as needed but they do not breath so are not a wet day touring solution either.

The Joe Rocket Meteor boots have a waterproof breathable liner. Now I always think if it is waterproof then is not going to breath that much but first ride test it would seem to be not too bad. I wore them on my last ride and it got to 26 degrees, more than I wanted wearing a boot like this and yet my feet did not perspire too much. I was wearing my ‘coolmax’ walking socks that I obtained from a outdoors shop and which I find work really well to wick away moisture when riding and by days end my feet had perspired some but had not suffered the dreaded ‘swamp foot’

The boots themselves are comfortable and seem well made. The buckle system is fully adjustable and there is no zipper to bother with you adjust how close the upper part of the boot is via velcro which works well for me. On the road I really enjoyed the feel of these boots and they look subtle yet stylish, not like something to go to the moon in. My current riding pants (BMW City Pants) tend to ride up a bit so these boots cover the gap that I have when wearing them.

Moving up the next item will be winter pants.

New Earplugs

My new supply of soft silicon earplugs has arrived. For reasons I am not certain of these style of earplugs mostly used by swimmers are marked up in Australia 3 to 4 times the price they retail for overseas, so I source mine from the Earplug superstore USA.

If you dislike regular foam earplugs or find they do not stay put in your ear then consider giving the silicon ones a try. You can get some at any chemist and you should find they do not isolate the rider from sounds as much as foam earplugs but do reduce the wind noise enough to make riding more enjoyable as well as save your hearing. They are also very comfortable unlike foam or in ear molded things, I also use them on airplanes to sleep.

Helmet Windjammer

I took my previous Shark RSR helmet out for a spin yesterday to revisit an item designed to cut wind noise on helmets I had purchased some years ago.

Called the Windjammer II from Proline Sports UK I first purchased this to use on a KBC helmet I previously owned that was particularly noisy. On that helmet riding the Buell XB Lightning I found little change so discarded the Windjammer until unearthing it recently.

The idea is the Windjammer affixes to the lower rim of a helmet and is held in place by a combination of elastic and sticky material where it grips the helmet, inside the helmet there is a neoprene skirt that cuts the wind roar. I can vouch the sticky elastic grips well and can be moved from helmet to helmet and has not lost its effectiveness despite being a few years old. I can also say the Windjammer when riding my Buell Firebolt works well.

To experience the idea behind the Windjammer next time you are riding place your left hand palm down below your helmet under your left ear and note the effect on reducing the wind noise.

So why did not not work before? I think the effectiveness is limited by the way the air flow is around the rider related to each model motorcycle. On the Lightning the air blast was crazy, the small screen in front of the instruments seemed to actually focus the wind on the rider’s neck and head. By comparison my Speed Triple and MV Agusta Brutale both had defused wind around the rider’s head thanks to well designed instrument pods/screens. The Firebolt with it’s bikini screen is similar having a defused wind flow at the riders head but at highway speed there is still enough wind to create a that familiar wind roar noise. The Windjammer did reduce this in testing yesterday.

If your not wearing earplugs your damaging your hearing when riding and the noise reduction from this is not comparable. If your using  ear plugs then this is probably not needed so where does it fit. Well I guess if you cannot wear ear plugs then this is worth a try given the price of just 10 pounds. If you listen to your iPod or use comms devices while riding then this may be of assistance. And if you use lite earplugs or soft silicon ear plugs which still allow some noise then this might be worth a look depending on your bike and helmet.

Comparing the Shark RSR and Nolan Jet helmet

A couple of observations between the Nolan Jet style and the Shark conventional style helmet. First thing I noticed was the reduction in vision on yesterdays ride using the Shark. The lower front vision reduction did not matter, actually as I have previously noted sometimes the reflection from the road with the Nolan is unwanted however the loss of side vision was bothersome on the motorway doing checks for vehicles around me and I felt closed in a few times when needing to turn my head more to see.

The Nolan is not as plush, the jet visor fogs easier and the internal sunscreen could extend down longer (I pull it down more by hand) however the extra vision provided is hard to go back from. The Shark is a more comfortable helmet due to the liner yet it became hot inside by midday even in autumn weather where as the Nolan rarely has heat build up due to the massive vents on it’s top and that you can lift the jet visor and leave internal sunscreen visor in place at low speed to flow air like an open face.

I would like to see some improvements done to the Nolan’s breath guard and internal screen however it does deliver much better vision to the rider over a regular helmet.

Hide and Seek

That's the game I think I was playing with the scattered showers today when I decided to do a smaller then usual southern ride.
The weather looked fine this morning and after a slow start I got on the road sometime before 8.00am with no real plan other than south. I know I ride there a lot, I did look at a northern ride last night and the distance to Maleny and Murwillumbah are about the same but going north you are stuck on the same well worn route which I find less enjoyable.
I have not ridden Springbrook for a while and I can advise that they have resurfaced much of the road in the upper section, all corners are now new hotmix.
Much if the hill was damp and I was thinking it was just left over from the evening however as I continued south I realised that there were still some scattered showers about as the road alternated between dry and damp.

Tyalgum

I more or less made a beeline towards Tyalgum as I wanted to shoot some photos of the crater before it got too hazy. If you have not been there the photo does not capture how dramatic the ridge is in real life, I wish there were some roads going up there into the clouds! Leaving Tyalgum towards Uki I could see it was raining to the south of Mt Warning however I was planning to ride over to Stokers Siding thus I turned away from the rain just before Uki.
I ran into a lot of cyclists before Stokers Siding today as there was some riding event that was held on the back roads of the Tweed. I like watching the Tour de France on tv each year, those guys really move, but today’s riders who had a police escort were as slow as snails, the peloton was riding at about 30kph the guys in the rear were at walking pace so I was glad to see the end of them within a few km’s as I turned north to Murwillumbah after the railway.

I had an early lunch at the Tweed Gallery. I have not mentioned this place in awhile however it is about time I did again as excellent food and coffee can be had there while enjoying views north to the border ranges from the balcony.

Tweed Valley

Riding south I found the road soaked before Burringbah range where it must have just rained however I again avoided getting wet and the range itself was totally dry. I stopped at Mooball for fuel and nature break at the automatic toilet there and having wondered what might happen if these roadside toilets malfunctioned I can now report. The door electronically closes and is locked for 10 minutes unless you open it earlier. Well this time the door unlocked and opened itself after 2 minutes – fortunately no cars were going past while I had to get up and reclose the door … Some things need not be computerised.

Farrants Hill

Did the criss cross ride north over the highway on back roads and then over Farrants Hill and down to Duranbah where I ran into the cyclists again coming the other way this time before heading back to Tumbulgum. I decided to ride the Bilambil loop over Teranora Rd which I had not done for some time. Again the roads were wet in parts where it had rained seemingly just before I arrived however despite the looming clouds overhead still the rain had not managed to find me.

Bilambil 

Looking north to the ranges it was definitely raining but I was betting it was on the Numinbah crossing not where I was riding over  Currumbin and I was right. Ha Ha Mr. Rain you lose today, did not get a drop on me.

Currumbin range looking back south 

Today’s route here.