Photo from Fox News
Fox News’ website has a nice article on helmet laws across the county. In addition to the table explaining the laws they also discuss some of stats around helmet usage. Check it out here.
Posts Tagged ‘motorcycle riding’
State by State Helmet Laws
Posted: November 14, 2013 in Motorcycle advocacy, motorcycle safetyTags: counterfeit, department of transportation, DOT, fox news, Harley, Harley Davidson, HD, helmet laws, HOG, Motorcycle, motorcycle helmets, Motorcycle Ride, motorcycle riding, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, NHTSA
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Weekend Ride Motorcycle Ride … Mountian Ridge, River Valley, Irish Pub
Posted: November 13, 2013 in Motorcycle RidesTags: Blackthorne Inn & Restaurant, Harley, Harley Davidson, HD, HOG, Motorcycle, Motorcycle Ride, motorcycle riding, Secret Blue Ridge Mountain, shenandoah river, upperville, US 15, US 50, US 7, VA, Veterans day, Virginia, Virginia motorcycle ride, Wolf Tune Irish Pub
My wife Debbie and our close friends Tim and Karma went for a cool ride this past weekend. Cool in that the temperature was about 50F degrees before wind chill.
I was going to take the Ultra Limited out, thinking the big faring would reduce the wind. But, luck conspired against us and the Ultra would not start (weak battery). So we hopped on the Heritage and away we went, we both had our chaps on and Debbie had her long underwear, full face helmet and heavy jacket. I put on an open face helmet and a middle weight jacket.
Watching the pig dance
We linked up with Tim and Karma at the intersection of US Routes 15 and 50. We had barely been there 5 minutes (watching a dancing pig) before they pulled up looking like black leather clad Eskimos! There was no skin showing anywhere on Karma and only a little on Tim. I started thinking maybe I was a bit under dressed.
We did not have any real plans on where to go, this was a last minute thing, so I took the lead. I knew neither Tim nor Karma had been on the “Secret Blue Ridge Mountain Northern Stretch” which runs along a blue ridge mountain ridge line and connects US 50 with US Route 7. I also knew that I was the only one in the group that had taken River Road along the Shenandoah River which would take us back to US 50. I had mentioned the Blue Ridge route here and the River Road ride here.
Wolf Tune Pub
As the sun stated to slide into the west it stated to cool even more. About 3 PM we pulled into the Wolf Tune Irish Pub, part of the Blackthorne Inn & Restaurant in Upperville, VA. The atmosphere and food in the pub was superior! The hot apple cider warmed our hands and insides. If you are in the Upperville area we can recommend a stop at the pub!
Getting back on the bikes we began chasing the fading light, sunset was coming fast. Riding back to the intersection where we met we soon split, with Tim and Karma heading east and Debbie and I going north back to Leesburg. It was at the split that I really started feeling the cool, hugging the engine a little closer I survived to ride another day.
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- Karma as black leather Eskimo!
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- Middleburg, VA
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- US Route 50
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- On the Ridge
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- The River Road
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- Karma and Debbie
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- My eyes are frozen open!
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- Let me fix my hair.
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- Is that better?
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- I am cold,,,,let’s go home
The fake DOT dot… or don’t wear a motorcycle helmet with one.
Posted: November 12, 2013 in motorcycle safetyTags: Consuer reports, counterfeit, department of transportation, DOT, Harley, Harley Davidson, HD, HOG, Motorcycle, motorcycle helmets, Motorcycle Ride, motorcycle riding, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, NHTSA
DOT Approved? Not likely!
Consumer Reports is reporting that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has revised its helmet labeling requirements. That due to the ease of counterfeiting the current labels to many people are using “novelty helmets”.
The article states that “Novelty helmets often bear labels similar to those formerly used by the Department of Transportation to identify helmets in compliance with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 218.” So the new label should reduce the fake DOT stickers on the back of helmets.
Veterans Day Motorcycle Ride
Posted: November 11, 2013 in Motorcycle RidesTags: Harley, Harley Davidson, HD, HOG, Motorcycle, Motorcycle Ride, motorcycle riding, Veterans day
I went for a ride this Veterans Day Weekend with my wife and some friends (will post on that ride later). During the ride I thought of Veterans Day and what follows is a short synopsis of what I was thinking.
A “LOT” of my family has served. My dad was in the Army and the Navy, most of his and my mother’s brothers were in WWII. My father-in-law, brother-in-law served and my son-in-law is still serving after four tours in Iraq or Afghanistan. My youngest daughter’s fiancé is in his first “hitch” with the Air Force. Many of my cousins have served as well, some even went to Vietnam. I would not be surprised that if you looked deep into the family tree we would find that members of my extended family have served as far back as the Civil War.
Those of us that serve typically lead a hard life, often away from family, often in places that most of the world would never venture. As part of this lifestyle I have had associates, acquaintances, and friends of the family injured and killed. Even in peace, it is common for service members to be away from their families for months at a time, to be hurt or killed.
Yes, we choose to undertake this tough lifestyle. Yes, we, understood the risks we were taking. Yes, we knew that we could be killed or permanently injured. Yes, many of us would do it again. Most people will never understand why we choose to do this nor do I expect them to understand. We do it for you, you may not understand why, but know, that we do.
Below is political commentary, you do not need to read past this point.
For the first time in my life, almost half of which was in service, I feel that our political leaders REALLY do not care about the soldiers, sailors, marines and airmen. I could give you a long list of proofs of why I believe this but one point stands at the forefront of my reasoning.
There are nearly 600,000 service members awaiting “processing” by the Veterans Administration. 600,000 service members with some form of injury or disability WAITING for help from the government, from the political leaders that they served. The same politicians that determined a website and non-citizens should have priority over the men and women that THEY sent into harm’s way.
Another electric motorcycle concept
Posted: November 9, 2013 in Motorcycle newsTags: BMW motorcycle, concept motorcycle, dirt bike, electric motorcycle, Husqvarna, Motorcycle, Motorcycle Ride, motorcycle riding
There are a lot of electric motorcycle concept vehicles out there. Most are by companies you have never heard of and, probably (as soon as the Federal “seed” money is gone) never will. But this one is different.
Husqvarna has been around for a long time and will be around for a long time more. They introduced the “E-Go Concept” bike a while back but I just ran across the bike and thought I would share. Additionally, it looks like they have some form of partnership with BMW Motorcycles on this effort.
It is one of the few electric “dirt bike” concepts and it is really different. The first thing I noticed was that the front suspension is on right side of bike and the rear is on the left. Not sure how that would work in real life for it is interesting.
You can find out more on the bike at BMW Motorcycle Magazine and at TopSpeed.com.
Motorcycle Safety Research
Posted: October 31, 2013 in Motorcycle newsTags: Motorcycle, motorcycle research group, motorcycle research group at vtti, motorcycle riding, motorcycle safety, Motorcycle Safety foundation, MSF, safety, VA, Virginia, Virginia tech, VT, VTTI
Virginia Tech (officially Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University) has the Motorcycle Research Group as part of its official research arm. The objective of the Motorcycle Research Group, which was founded in 2007, is “applying the multidisciplinary research capabilities at VTTI to real-world motorcycle riding.”
According to the website they are on their third major safety study. Information on their first study, for the Motorcycle Safety Foundation, was the “Naturalistic Motorcyclist Study is available here.
According to their website, they are looking for riders to participate in the Naturalistic Study as well as their other efforts. If you have spent any time looking at motorcycle safety you know that there are very few actual studies of the subject. The fact that a major university is doing this will, undoubtedly, lead to better laws, techniques and equipment. Take a look at the requirements, listed on their webpage, and if you qualify consider participating.
The Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride
Posted: October 27, 2013 in Motorcycle RidesTags: café bike, café builder, Café Racer, classic motorcycle, daper, DGR, distinguished gentleman’s ride, Harley, Harley Davidson, HD, HOG, Motorcycle, Motorcycle Ride, motorcycle riding, prostate cancer, vintage, vintage motorcycle
I have never heard of this motorcycle ride before but I am very intrigued. I ran across the link in while just surfing around and I think I may participate in next year’s event, if there is one.
You get dressed in nice clothes and ride your bike in support of several charities. I like the idea and will be keeping an eye on their website and the local groups Facebook page.
According to their website the event began in 2012 and has now spread to over 100 cities. This year they raised over $250,000 dollars supporting Prostate Cancer Foundations in several countries.
If you have time check out their website! (the photos are from the DRG website and the DGR Washington DC Facebook site)
Texting while driving
Posted: October 25, 2013 in Motorcycle newsTags: Alaska, distracted driving, fine, info-graphic, Motorcycle, motorcycle riding, texting while driving
We have all seen texting while driving whether or not we are in our cars or on our motorcycles. A friend sent me this info-graphic on the fines, or lack thereof, by state. It is interesting to see the WIDE differences between the states and WOW…. Alaska fines you $10,000!
My most close call with a distracted driver occurred a few years ago when a lady talking on her phone began to drift into my lane. I had nowhere to go move to and after hitting the horn and rev’ing the engine (loud pipes) I only got her attention when I kicked a large dent into her car door.
I think that this person would have driven in another car, truck or building.
Cool New Old Honda CB Cafe Racer
Posted: October 24, 2013 in Motorcycle newsTags: Café Racer, Gasser Customs, Harley Davidson, Honda, Honda CB350, Honda CB750, Motorcycle, motorcycle riding, Shopping, Sports, vintage, vintage motorcycle
A video showing off the SilverBullet. Built by Gasser Customs this bike is a great example of what can be done with older bikes. The video is well shot and a nice 5 minute view.
Anyone have a reason the link is displaying not the video? BTW I am using the native iPad app.
Motorcycle TV: Top Gear (USA)
Posted: October 21, 2013 in Motorcycle news, Motorcycle TVTags: BBC, Harley, Harley Davidson, HD, History Channel, HOG, Motorcycle, Motorcycle Ride, motorcycle riding, sturgis, sturgis bike week, Sturgis motorcycle rally, television, top gear, TV
This week on Top Gear the boys go to Sturgis. History Channel describes this episode as:
“The Top Gear hosts embark on a two-wheel road trip through South Dakota to the world’s largest automotive event, the annual Sturgis Bike Week. Starting out on scooters and needing to pass challenges to progress to the bigger bikes they’ll need to ride to fit in at the rally, the hosts go through hell as they close in on Sturgis. The winner will race a super-charged Ariel Atom against a 200 mph sports bike, while the loser will have to take part in a stunt, courtesy of HISTORY channel’s newest series, American Daredevils.”
While a lot of folks do not care for this version of the famous BBC show, I enjoy it. The biggest issue I have with the show is that Tanner (the professional racer) always wins the contest to drive the hot cars. Come on, I want to see one of the other guys wreck a $200,000 car!
I JUST WANT 2 RIDE!! 