Motorcyclists are always evaluating the use of motorcycle helmets. Is this simply a matter of preference or are there significant issues to be considered?

A friend of mine (Bill) has chosen to ride with a helmet, or at times without a motorcycle helmet. He says it depends upon riding conditions for him. One day he was on a two lane road, traveling about 50mph when a tractor trailer truck pulled out from the right side of the street to go the same direction. His thought was to maintain his speed and simply pass the truck. [Which, most likely could be done.] Unfortunately the truck driver did not have enough room for the turn, and stopped dead still, crossing both lanes. Bill was now approaching the truck too fast and too close to stop safely. He tried breaking hard but immediately knew he was facing the side of the trailer head-on. With quick thinking he laid his Harley on the side and slid under the trailer and on down the road a couple hundred feet. Relaying his story to me, he was flat on his back, feet first, with his arms spread out and his head bopping on the highway. When all was finished he gave credit to God for helping him and praised his destroyed helmet for saving his life. [Plus, the leather jacket and gloves that had taken the tears in place of him.] My friend only suffered from some sore muscles and hurt pride. But, it brings up the subject of helmet safety.

In the KSL-TV News of South Jordan, the Police Chief (Dan Pearson) is likewise teaching people that helmets save lives, after losing three friends to motorcycle accidents in two years. All three suffered from head injuries and none were wearing motorcycle helmets. Then, the police chief himself was involved in an accident on highway 89 North of Afton, Wyoming. A truck towing a horse trailer had passed him and pulled in front of him, hitting the front of his motorcycle with the spare tire mounted on the back. Dan was thrown off his bike, landing headfirst. He says, “This injury would have been a fatal blow if I hadn’t had the helmet on.” Dan suffered from bruises and a few broken bones.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that motorcyclists survive a crash and receive less serious injuries when wearing a helmet. They report that at least 600 people are saved each year.

One question that is asked, “motorcycle helmets might protect your brain but can it increase your chances of a broken neck?” Dr. Michael Yorgason, a surgeon at Montana Orthopedics and Sport Medicine, states that the findings from medical literature shows: “autopsy studies done after fatal motorcycle accidents have shown that neck injuries and fractures are equally likely, whether you are wearing a helmet or not.” Yet, most medical reports support the use of motorcycle helmets. They believe that the helmet generally decreases the risk of head and brain injury significantly and surmise that wearing them does not increase your risk of neck injury.

An Italian study concluded that a helmet decreased injury by 66%. A Thailand study found that after making helmets mandatory, head injuries decreased by 41% in 2 years. Now, in Kentucky, a study revealed that brain injury increased by 4.3 times when not wearing a helmet.

In an article written by Jonathan P. Goldstein, PhD., titled “The Effects of Motorcycle Helmet Use on the Probability of Fatality and the Severity of Head and Neck Injuries.” He concludes that there are a number of variables in a study that puts the study in question. Major differences are held concerning helmet use or non-helmet use. Normal results compare death and injury rates are two and three times greater for non-helmet riders and increases in occurrence rates in repeal years that vary from 19% to 63%. On one side: the helmet verses the non-helmet study fails to consider these two classes of riders. Stating that helmet riders are more cautious by nature. One, they drive slower, thus have slower speeds in crash situations. Two, they are less likely to have an accident. Three, helmet wearers are less likely to drink and drive (alcohol or use of drugs). These behavior changes dramatically reduce a riders risk.

On-the-other-hand, factors to consider are: 1-average age of the biker 2-average miles driven each year, per biker 3-average experience of the biker 4-the size of the motorcycle driven. So, between the size of the bike, potential speed, age, risk taking and alcohol ingestion; simply, cannot realistically prove the effectiveness of helmet use. The Goldstein study did approach these variables in question. They reported a study that evaluates the effectiveness of motorcycle helmets in accident situations. The conclusions are: 1-Motorcycle helmets have no statistically significant effect on the probability of fatality. 2- Helmets reduce the severity of head injuries. 3-Past a critical impact speed of 13 mph, helmets increased the severity of neck injuries. The report then concluded that helmet users face a trade-off between reductions in the severity of head injuries and increases in the severity of neck injuries.

Under these circumstances a mandatory helmet use law cannot be reasoned to be an effective method to stop an individuals death or injury when involved in an accident.

Perhaps other choices need to be considered in providing safety in motorcycle use. Here are three suggestions. One, educate the general driving public (car and truck drivers) in road use with motorcycles. Two, educate inexperienced motorcyclists on accident avoidance (evasive action) and the proper use of these powerful machines. Three, create a strict enforcement of drunk driving laws. [Some studies show that alcohol consumption is the major factor in deaths and injury.]

Harley-Davidson offers basic and advanced training to 200+ dealerships in 30 states. Honda has four training centers. BMW is considering advanced training but says they tend to attract seasoned riders.

It is believed that training cuts panic. You need to know how to negotiate a curve and resist the urge to brake, etc.

Here are some other factors that need to be considered. Tires should be inflated to the proper level. A riders visibility to be seen. Tests have shown that the plain white motorcycle helmets are the easiest to be seen. Clothing makes a difference between day/night.

For night riding there are reflective vests and lighted vests available. There is GLO GLOV; reflective tape for clothing and cycle; reflective vests and coats. Now back to helmets.

USA Today carried the statistic from the National Highway Traffic Saftey Administration, reporting that 24% of the fatal crashes in 2003 involved unlicensed motorcyclists, and that car drivers are responsible in about two-thirds of motorcycle fatalities. US DOT findings discovered that following the Helmet Law Repeal in Texas and Arkansas from Aug/Sept of 1997 to May 1998, helmet use dropped to 52% in Arkansas and to 66% in Texas. In Arkansas motorcycle fatalities rose 21% following the repeal and head injuries increased 18.5%. Texas fatalities rose 31%.

One court case in California disputed what standards were set for qualifying a helmet as “safe”. For a list of the US Government “Compliance Testing of Motorcycle Helmets” you can check to see if your helmet passed or failed. Check with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

Just Which Scooter is right for you?

For some years now, I have been looking into buying a motor scooter or motor bike of some sort. I had my first bike licence lesson today and have thought of many many ways to save to be able to purchase the right one. But which is the right one? Which scooter is the one that will suit my various needs and desires?

There are so many scooter makers to choose from and once you “meet your maker”, then you have a great big job on your hands in choosing your model. In one Australian magazine alone you have listed 20 different brand names and each of them have numerous models listed.

Aprilia - 6 models; Benelli - 7; Bowell Scoota - 14; Bug - 6; Bug-Kymco - 2; Derbi - 1; Giamoto - 1; Gilera - 2; Honda - 4; Hyosung - 6; Italjet - 3; Motobella - 1; Peugeot - 11; Piaggio - 2; SCP - 4; Suzuki - 2; TGB - 5; Vespa - 7; V-Moto - 3; Yamaha - 6.

And these are changing all the time and only include all the new machines on the market at the time of publication, there are no 'classics' listed there like the Lambretta…who make watches now…go figure!

So where do you start?

Why do you want one?

Why not a small car? There are some great small cars that are very fuel efficient, even a hybrid car that is good for the environment too! For me the choose of a scooter is not instead of a car. We have a family car but are feeling like the days of running two cars as a family are coming to an end. It cost me sometimes $10 a day in public transport! Having said that, even if my work offered to supply a car or a scooter, I think I would ask for a scooter. One my the choices is environmental. The footprint each of us leave on the planet is making a deeper impact than ever before and we need to begin to wake up to this issue. A small scooter can use less than 3 L/100km which is significantly less than the 20L/100km that a RV uses. As we enter the 21st century serious questions are being asked about the sustainability of our current way of life. Global demand for fossil fuels is outstripping supply. World oil peak and the inevitable decline of fossil fuels is upon us now (see The End of Suburbia). Sure scooters use fuel too, this one day may be an issue as well, but much work is going into experimenting with various fuel alternatives.

I think the other issue for me is fun. Plain old fun. The thought of riding around with the wind in your hair on a sunny day, heading down the coast with a few mates to the cafe strip to chat about life and sip on a well made espresso…hmmm I am ready to go! The thought of picking my daughter up after a netball game, popping on the spare helmet and zipping down the shops for a milkshake…love it! What about just my wife and I going out for a Sunday afternoon cruise, kids at the neighbours house, sun in the sky, ready for a ride, a picnic, a movie or just a cruise down the coast!

And of course there is convenience. The ease of parking, the moving in and out of traffic at peak hour and the “I’m just going down to the shop for some milk sweetheart!” ease of jumping on and out and back in a flash. Where does it park? In a garden shed, an big store room, the workshop, maybe yours has its own bedroom inside the house, but hey, it could share a room with another scooter…not a car in the world you could say that about!

Oh one more thing I forgot to say - image. There is a kind of nostalgia attached to some of the older bikes or new retro looking bikes - romance, ‘the coolness factor’. Of course you want to buy the old look goggles and half helmet, I know you want some chrome accessories and some extra mirrors, maybe even a big arial. Admit it, scooter image is a BIG factor.

But what do you need in a scooter?

Where will you go on your scooter? Is this just a runabout for your local suburb? Are you heading little further than a 50km radius? Are there any challenging hills in your part of town? How heavy are you? A 50cc scooter, even a top quality one will not suit your purposes if you are desiring long trips on a regular basis, (my opinion only). From my reading, most people who buy a small capacity scooter and do some serious moving, end up regretting the purchase and trading up or out. People who want to use freeways and highways without getting arrested or abused or worse, need to consider upwards of 125cc. If you are over 85kg I would suggest you ride some bikes around before deciding on a 50cc scooter too. Look for leg well space, suspension issues such as wobble and bottom out. (try some speed humps!)

If you are planning on some long rides or at least some short but fast rides, get looking at a 125cc and over scooter. There are other factors to the ride than the engine size; such as tyre size, seat hight and so on. My advice, ask for a test drive.

Obviously you need a bike licence in many places if you are riding a bike over 50cc, so make sure you check all that out.

Scooter Purchase Price will be a factor for most, but sometimes if you want something bad enough you will even start a blog about scooters just to try to earn some money to buy one! I love the smooth feel of the top of the line Vespa GTS i.e. 250 with it’s twist and go and all the digital read outs and extra fruit (about AU$9200 on road), but love the old lines of the PX200 (about AU$8200 on road)and the classic feel of changing gears. But also I love the thought of restoring an old Lambretta. You might just want to take what’s in your bank account and buy what you can get for less than AU$2000, a imported Chinese VMoto, Australia’s top selling scooter would do you just fine! All I am saying is that you can get many nice looking machines out there, some are plastic, some are classic pressed metal, some with last a lifetime and go forever, some are fun machines that you may use till they die or have some fun and move on to your next obsession.

Speaking of obsession, let's talk desire - colour, style, accessories…the works.

Some of you are simple people, you just want a scooter. Go to the local scooter dealer and ask the man to show you one. Still others like sporty and fast looking machines, there are some reading this that like a big solid cruiser, maybe even with it’s own stereo system and mobile phone holder. There are some that want a ‘pink one’. Some just want ‘my first scooter’. You might be like me and love the old style classic, retro feel to a scooter and love looking at old restorations of classic Lambrettas and 1960 Vespas…hmmmm. Even the sound ‘Vespa’ makes as you say it…oh sorry, I was somewhere else for a second! :) Some might be in between. I like the old style but I can’t afford to be fixing it all the time so I will go for an old name, but a new model like the GT200 Grandtouismo Vespa, or better still the more classic looking PX Vespa which retains the rounded front, the manual gears and so on, but has the advantage of a new model machine with warrantee from a dealer if bought new.

The advantage of buying new is that accessorising the bike does not require endless searching for long lost parts from Italy or the collector of all things fine…and expensive, down the road. But then for many all that is half the fun! The new bikes come with matching top boxes, side bars and gear racks - the works, ready for you to buy up and put on board.

I restored a car once, a soft top four wheel drive, so I do know what it feels like to drive along with the wind in your hair, I also know what it feels like covered in grease, to wander into your wife every evening at 11pm and say, “I think I need a new XYZ, that thing is stuffed”. An endless money pit is what restoration often is. Then when the shiny new red car reappeared in my drive way after I had put it all back together again, I never wanted to drive it much, certainly not out in the bush! It was my baby!

Not sure I want to go through all that again with a scooter, as satisfying as it was when it was finished, I think I will leave restorations to people with more patience than I have.

So there it is. Want a scooter? Have I confused you more? Helped you more? Let me know if you have any questions and I will do some of the hard yards for you in the research department and post back here again.

All motorcycle batteries look small. The biggest ones you can find seem to be heavily burdened with the gigantic machines they operate. But its size does not mean easy maintenance for the battery.

For one thing, these batteries lose one percent of their charge per day just sitting there doing nothing. So you can see that you just can't park it, walk away, and come back in four or five months and expect it to work. Amazingly some of them do work after that kind of abuse, but a greater number of them don't.

A modern motorcycle battery is a marvel of compact packaging. A motorcycle may look smooth on the outside, but inside it’s a different story. Every single part of the motorcycle is vibrating when you start the engine. These vibrations affect the performance of the motorcycle battery, as they are made with lead plates that rattle as your engine churns. Common sense will tell us that vibrations cause motorcycle batteries to lose their stored power. Don’t be deceived by the looks of the plates, they are not as sturdy as they seem.

The lead plates are good active ingredients, but they are only tender pastes cast into intersecting wires. They are pretty much like your waffle batter. This characteristic of lead plates helps in allowing better chemical reaction. Like waffles, lead plates are very porous. This allows the electrolyte to be easily absorbed.

Motorcycle batteries serve more than just motorcycles; in some parts, they can be actually modified and used in small boats or as a generator for a household. Batteries will fail without warning. Knowing this, you can take some precautions and be prepared. For one, you can post a note indicating when you last charged your motorcycle battery. It is not recommended that you buy a backup battery. Do not liken a battery to a spare tire; batteries tend to loose their charge even if you don’t use them. A better thing to do is keep the number of your mechanic, so you can call him in case of emergency.

Batteries work like humans, too; you don’t really have to check on them every time but it would help if you include it on your car/motorcycle maintenance routine.

Dirt Bike Crashes are sometimes comical, are usually painful, and unfortunately they sometimes have dire consequences. Dirt bike crashes are bound to happen to every rider at some point, and no amount of safety gear is going to prevent you from crashing.

Basically, what you will discover is that there are two dirt bike racer categories. The first category is made up of racers who have been down, and the second is racers who are going to go down.

Ask any dirt bike enthusiast and they’ll likely have a few crash stories to tell you. Some stories you may hear include classic crash scenarios such as the slow graceful slide as you lose the rear wheel, here classical music playing and wonder if it’s ever going to end to the ‘out of the blue’, slam into the ground as if a hand reached out of middle earth and grabbed your front wheel leaving your head spinning as your on the ground thinking “What the…”

It’s not just reckless and inexperienced drivers who wind up in crashes like the one described above, even the most experienced dirt bikers can crash. Thus, remember, they can happen to anyone.

When do dirt bike crashes happen? Dirt bike crashes often happen when you least expect them too, and when you are an inexperienced rider. They can also happen when a rider:

• Is in full flight
• Is going down a straight at full throttle
• Is barely moving
• Is performing a jump
• Is starting off
• Etc.

How do dirt bike crashes happen? Dirt bike crashes can happen at any time and at any speed. They can occur:

• By hitting a bump
• By clipping tires with another rider
• By making the wrong decision
• By losing control of the bike
• Etc.

Why do dirt bike crashes happen? Usually there isn’t any one reason why a dirt bike crash happens. Sometimes it’s because something goes wrong with the bike. Other times it could be caused by another rider losing control and crashing into you, or it could simply be caused by a pure and utter fluke. That being said, some causes that make you more susceptible to crashing include:

• Fatigue - if you are tired your mind is only half working, and your reflexes and motor skills are not at their full strength.
• Lack of fitness - Being in shape helps you better control and maneuver your body with your bike. You will also develop faster motor skills, and improve your hand-eye coordination.
• Lack of concentration - You need focus when you are riding your dirt bike. You should never race when you are overly emotional. For instance, if you are angry because you just had a fight with your best friend, your mind will be more focused on the fight than it will be on the upcoming turn on the track.
• Riding beyond your skill level - You should ride at the level you are comfortable. If you are an inexperienced rider you shouldn't be trying to perform jumps or stunts that are beyond your skill. Recklessly riding your dirt bike is a fast pass to a hospital bed.
• Riding too fast for a section - While you can crash at any speed, you are more likely to crash if you are speeding around certain areas of a track that aren't designed for that speed. You need to control your speed around turns, ditches, etc. Pre-walking a track is an important aspect of any motocross meet.
• Attempting an obstacle you're not ready for - If you don't feel comfortable performing a stunt or trick you don't think you're ready for, or you know you are not ready for, don't do it. It's that simple.

Ways to avoid crashes While you may not be able to avoid every crash that has your name on it, there are ways that you can improve your chances of being involved in fewer and less serious crashes:

Practice – Take the time to practice and improve your skill level. While practicing won’t make you perfect, it will certainly reduce your chance of crashing.

Train – Developing a training regimen and stick to it. If you truly want to enjoy racing your dirt bike, you need to take the sport seriously. Devote time to your hobby.

Think Smart - Getting rid of the “Win or Bail trying” attitude. Ride with common sense and put your safety first. Winning isn’t worth dying for.

Wear Protective Gear – Wearing the proper gear will help you walk away from crashes with minor injuries. The most important protective gear is the helmet. You should never ride without a helmet. Quite frankly that’s just plain stupid and suicidal. Other great items you can wear include proper boots, trousers, jersey, and gloves.