September 29th, 2008 by R.J.

I was in Palm Springs this weekend for the 5th Annual Memorial Ride.

Here’s the video as aired on KESQ.com:

September 19th, 2008 by R.J.

Whether you’re buying a new bike, moving to a new house, or just wanting to take your bike with you the next time you go on vacation, shipping your motorcycle may be necessary in many situations.

1) Check with Friends - For short distances, there is bound to be someone you know that will let you borrow a trailer to transport your bike. If not, perhaps they have also needed to ship a motorcycle in the past and know of some good carriers.

For longer distances, you will need to consider a long-distance or air cargo carrier.  CargoLogic USA is the only one I’ve used before. They offer air shipping, truck freight, and even sea freight, to ship your motorcycle door-to-door anywhere in the world.

2) Check References - Be sure to get a list of the company’s references to verify they are a reputable operation. Good companies will be more than willing to provide this information to you. If they won’t; take your business elsewhere.

3) Open or Enclosed - Motorcycles can be shipped two different ways: on an Open or in an Enclosed trailer. Shipping motorcycles Enclosed is the best way to ship your bike, but also the most expensive. If your motorcycle is exceptionally valuable, or you need to ship it through inclement weather, an Enclosed trailer will probably be your best bet.

4) Insurance - Your personal automobile insurance won’t cover your bike during transport. The carrier will offer a minimal amount of insurance which is often not even enough to cover the bike’s trade-in value. In such instances, or if your bike is valuable, you should purchase extra insurance from the carrier.

5) Take Pictures - Buy a disposable camera, take pictures of your bike how you shipped it, and get them developed. Carrier’s say they aren’t responsible for lost or damaged bikes, but if you have pictures that clearly show them at fault, a judge might see it otherwise.

6) Prepare Your Bike - Many carriers will require you to drain your gas tank and disconnect your battery before transporting it. Be sure to ask them about any conditions before it comes time to ship your bike, so you have plenty of time.

Hopefully you can use these tips to get your motorcycle to it’s destination safely.

September 10th, 2008 by R.J.

The 2009 Honda CBR line-up has been revealed. The biggest news that everyone seems to be talking about is that the bikes will be available with optional ABS.

Here are a few photos from the new line-up. Read the press release from Honda after the break:

Read the rest of this entry »

September 8th, 2008 by R.J.

All four of the Yamaha MotoGP riders took part in the world premier of the 2009 Yamaha R1 today in a suitably glittering show in Las Vegas, Nevada. Fiat Yamaha Team riders Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo and Tech 3 Yamaha team-mates Colin Edwards and James Toseland were Yamaha’s surprise guests at the unveiling, w  hich took place in front of 3000 Yamaha at the Mirage Hotel.

The all-new version of the R1, Yamaha’s premium performance road bike, is more closely linked than ever to the YZR-M1, the MotoGP version, than ever. The premier-class riders each came on stage aboard a different colored version of the machine, before being interviewed about it’s qualities compared to their own MotoGP bikes.

Here’s what some of the riders had to say about the bike:

Valentino Rossi:
“This is a great bike, it’s very like my M1 and it’s exciting to see so many MotoGP qualities now appearing on a bike for the road. I think everyone who loves the R1 and Yamaha will be very excited about this new version, it’s fantastic!”

Jorge Lorenzo:
“I think this bike will be very popular. Yamaha have worked very hard to try to make it as like our M1 as possible and it seems they have done a fantastic job. The cornering and agility especially is great, which is of course one of the best qualities of the M1.”

July 23rd, 2008 by R.J.

Here’s a couple of recent photos I took of my 2005 Valencia M1 Replica:

June 28th, 2008 by R.J.

Fayetteville’s The Citizen ran an article on Chad Clifton this afternoon. It has a lot of very nice sentiment from R1-Forum members and shows what a great guy we lost on Wednesday.

Here’s the article:

Local motorcycle rider dies after crash

June 27th, 2008 by R.J.

WINNEBAGO COUNTY, IL - Police are investing two separate cases where motorcyclists have been the target of a gunman in Winnebago County.

The first incident happened when a 21-year old from Machesney Park was riding near Alpine and Spring Creek. The victim was shot in the helmet and did not know he was injured until he got home. His family took him to OSF Saint Anthony Medical Center where he is being treated for non life-threatening injuries.

A second victim contacted the Winnebago County Sheriff’s department reporting being shot at in the same area. His motorcycle was hit in the gas tank near the intersection of Alpine and Brookview around 11:30 p.m. Tuesday.

Anyone with information is asked to call Rockford Police at 987-5824 or the Winnebago County Sheriff’s Department at 319-6311.

June 21st, 2008 by R.J.

SEATTLE- Eleven riders on high-powered motorcycles took turns riding wheelies through 60mph traffic last Saturday on I-5.

This kind of plays hand-in-hand with the article below about many motorcyclists having the “biker boyz” mentality resulting in their deaths. It’s just this kind of nonsense that makes the general public look down on our hobby.

If you want to wheelie, fine. Go out and do it on a street away from cars where you aren’t going to hurt anyone else when you crash. But that’s not cool, right? You have to show off in front of people. Why don’t you enter a stunt competition? That lets you show off -and- be safe. But then you don’t look like a badass in front of strangers you’ll never meet? Oh… Well… In that case… By all means, carry on.

I just don’t understand this. It just makes motorcyclists look like hooligans that have no regard for anybody including themselves. What’s going to happen when one of those cagers decides to float the idea of banning motorcyclists from the roads and all the rest of them that you scared to death agree to it? Or how about when your insurance (assuming you have insurance, right?) decides to raise your rates because the perception of bikers is now a bunch of reckless turkeys riding machines of pure suicide.

But, hey, those were some awesome wheelies, right?

June 21st, 2008 by R.J.

The Los Angeles Times ran an article about the rise in motorcycle fatalities recently. It’s not really a surprise to me; I post about them every day; and I’ve lost some really good friends to bike accidents. But the numbers are still pretty shocking…

Over the last ten years, the CHP has tracked a 140% increase in motorcycle fatalities in the state.  In 2006 alone, there were 433 riders killed and 10,188 motorcyclists injured in California.

The 4 months between June and September result in nearly 50% of deadly collisions for the entire year.

“On nice weekends, when the weatherman says it’s going to be sunny, we get the copter gassed up and ready to go. Because you can just predict that someone’s going to do something that started out fun and ends up a disaster,” said Shane Matthews, weekend crew chief of the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department’s air rescue squad.

Fran Clader, a CHP spokesperson, implied that the reason for the rise in fatalities is because more baby-boomers are hitting the road with “bigger and more powerful” engines. I don’t necessarily agree with that.

I think that’s just a political agenda someone is going to bring up to limit the power of motorcycles for “safety reasons.” I believe speed, not engine size, is the biggest contributing factor to the majority of these wrecks.

It’s just as easy to kill yourself on a 600cc sportbike as it is on a 1000cc. They’re both going to reach speeds in excess of 170mph. If you crash on either one, you’re probably going to die. But you don’t need to be going 170mph to kill yourself on a bike. People are killed on mopeds all the time. Are their engines too big, too?

Inattention is the other big factor. A lot of people get on bikes to show off and their mindset is “looking cool” in front of other people on the road. Not safety.  And who’s to blame them? Bikes are cool. But at some point that has to take a backseat to preserving your own life.

There’s too many people dying out there as a result of this “biker boyz” mindset. We, as motorcyclists, need to put a stop to it. We need to educate more riders on how to properly handle their bikes. I suggest everyone who rides a bike take an MSF Course. Not only will they teach you how to operate your bike safely and avoid accidents, they’ll teach you what you need to do to survive mishaps that would otherwise result in accidents with real hands-on training.

February 18th, 2008 by R.J.

Read an interesting article today from Florida about paramedics using decommissioned CHP motorcycles to respond to injury calls.

Ken DeSantis, 42, of Wellington Flordia is firefighter/paramedic veteran of 22 years and is part of a 2-man motorcycle team stationed in Fort Lauderdale. His team uses donated CHP motorcycles to respond to accidents in the heavily trafficked seaport, Port Everglades.

The program was modeled after a similar one in Miami-Dade county. “We cut response times to life-threatening calls by more than 58 percent,” said Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Capt. Roman Bas, who started his agency’s team in 2002.

Both members of the Ford Lauderdale team had to complete the same 80-hour motorcyclist course required of police.

On average, the motorcyclist paramedics have a three minute response time. Awesome, right? Now lets go ahead and get this implemented all over the country.