Another excellent PSA video from the UK THINK! motorcycle road safety organization.

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ninja250.kingston.net/hand_signals Study and memorize these motorcycle riding hand signals. They’re bound to come in handy. :-) Thanks to Da Magnator on the mortorcycle-usa forums for the link.

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Well, they did it. Instead of giving up the fight in Oregon as I thought they might have, the MSF has just signaled that another round is starting. IRVINE, Calif., Dec. 15, 2006 - The Motorcycle Safety Foundation filed a lawsuit against Oregon State University, its president, and also against Stephen Garets, both individually and in his official capacity as director of the Team Oregon Motorcycle Safety Program of OSU, charging the parties with copyright infringement and violation of the MSF’s rights under the Lanham Act. The complete press release.

Update 12/29/2006: lawsuit (pdf file)

So why didn’t they sue the state of Oregon? Team Oregon is a partnership of Oregon State University and the Oregon Department of Transportation. Maybe they’d rather not tangle with a state Attorney General or chance the possible negative publicity of doing so?

I must have been on happy weed when I thought the battle might be over. It’s not just Oregon that the MSF is concerned about. In addition to Oregon, Idaho and Hawaii have stopped using the MSF training curriculum. Earlier this year Colorado was going to look into using the Oregon curriculum. Washington is apparently looking at using the Oregon curriculum now. If the MSF didn’t do something who knows how many more states might jump off the MSF ship.

One thing they could have done but didn’t would have been to develop a quality curriculum that better meets the needs of the beginning motorcyclist. Instead, they chose to go with the ever popular American tradition, a lawsuit, to try and retain their dominance.

Shame on you MSF. And shame on everyone who blindly assumes the MSF is a benevolent organization that cares about the motorcycling public. They don’t. They are a manufacturer’s organization whose objectives are (1) to protect the interests of manufacturers and (2) help sell more motorcycles.

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The MFS hasn’t had any luck getting the road bike Basic Riders Course (BRC) approved for DMV certification but Lady Luck has showered the MSF with success when it comes to dirt bike safety training. They own it (training rights) lock, stock and barrel. The USFS, BLM and ORPD recognize only the MSF dirt bike training curriculum. And it seems they aren’t doing a very good job of providing courses.

Ever tried signing up for a course? Good luck finding one (especially for adults). While such training is not currently required for adults (though it may be in the future) it is required for children under 12. Violations result in a citation. The Oregon Parks & Recreation Dept website states the fine is $180. In practice the fines have been $250. Think about that before hitting the trails with your children next season.

My interest in dirt bike training was sparked a couple of weeks ago when I received a report from a person (who doesn’t want his name spread all over the web, so let’s call him Anon) that outlines the troubles he encountered trying to (1) simply take a dirt bike course and (2) obtain certification from the MSF to conduct dirt bike safety training courses. Anon owns a logging business in Oregon and has used dirt bikes and other off highway Vehicles (OHV) in his business for many years. So he is no newcomer to off-road riding. His motivation: to better ensure the safety of his employees he wanted to be able to train them in the proper use of OHV’s. He has now published the report of his trials and tribulations on the web. Read it here.

From what he writes it seems the MSF is not doing a very good job of serving the Oregon dirt bike and ATV community.

Glossary of terms in the report:

• ATV – All Terrain Vehicle
• COHVOPS – USFS Combined Off-Highway Vehicle Operations Bend, OR
• DBS – Dirt Bike School
• LE – Law Enforcement
• MIC – Motorcycle Industry Council Irvine, CA
• MSF – Motorcycle Safety Foundation Irvine, CA
• OHV – Off Highway Vehicle
• ORPD – Oregon Parks & Recreation Dept: ATV’s
• PSS – Puget Sound Safety Tacoma, WA
• ROC – Retailer Operated Course
• SVIA – Specialty Vehicle Institute of America Irvine, CA
• USFS – US Forest Service

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See Team Oregon vs MSF for background information.

This news is a bit old but you may not have heard it before. Oregon BikePac reported that the MSF did not attend the Oct 20 Governor’s Motorcycle Safety Advisory Committee meeting—not even their local attorney showed up. An ambiguous report from ODOT was submitted. Ambiguous because the MSF never produced a business plan, despite numerous requests for such a plan.

After a full and thorough hearing the committee unanimously recommended that the state of Oregon not accept the MSF program as an approved course for DMV skills waiver. The issue will next be addressed at the Nov 28 meeting of the OTSC.

Sounds like the MSF is going out with a wimper.

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On a February 2006 post (Moto Medics), Helen, a member of the DOCV in Australia recently commented about their club’s effort in supporting organizations that provide health care in remote, difficult to access regions. In December of 2005 the club donated two Honda NX 125 motorcycles to Pilotos Solidarios (Riders with Common Goals, in Spanish) for use in providing health care to Indian communities in the Santiago del Estero (Google map) province of Argentina.

Her comment led me to another organization, Riders For Health a UK based charity, born out of the world of motorcycle racing, that provides reliable 2 and 4 wheel transportation for the delivery of health care in Africa. Their mission: “Riders for Health ensures vehicles used for the delivery of health care and associated development in Africa are available for the maximum time at the minimum cost.” Their objective is to ensure that completely reliable transport is available for the complete delivery of health services throughout Africa by 2015.

That is a laudable and worthwhile endeavor, but it won’t be easy to accomplish. They will need donations and support from many like minded people to accomplish their mission. After reading their website I am convinced they are a solid, well organized non-profit organization. Take a few minutes to browse their site then if you agree with their aims, add them to the list of charities that you support as I have.

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Anybody from Portland going to the annual motorcycle show in Seattle, Dec 1-3? I’m thinking about driving up Sat. am, staying overnight and visiting a friend on Sunday. Do you know of any inexpensive motels not too far from downtown?

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I was pondering whether to post some information I recently received when it dawned on that I haven’t posted in quite some time and that an explanation is probably in order. I frankly have not been in a mood to write about motorcycling because, not having ridden in a year, I’m not sure that I can call myself a motorcyclist any longer.

Last summer during a trip to Utah I bit the dust. By the time I healed, the Oregon fall rainy season had begun. Then winter set in and with it came a return of my depression. (I have battled depression all my life and of late it has become harder to fight off). On top of that my health deteriorated to the point that even a little physical exertion has become difficult. (My life long smoking habit resulted in a serious case of emphysema).

I imagine you have come across some “avoiders” in your life. Well I am one of them. I put off going to my physician to see if there was anything (besides inhalers which I already use) that might alleviate my shortness of breath. So I sat out this summer occupying myself with non-riding and non-physical activities.

Turns out there is something that might help improve the quality of my physical life. It involves surgery and I don’t know yet if I “qualify” for it but I am finally addressing the problem. Whether or not I’ll be up to riding a motorcycle come next year I do not yet know. But if not on two wheels then perhaps I can handle three wheels.

Conventional Harley/Honda trikes don’t hold much appeal for me. Not to knock them (hell, I might wind up owning one) but to me, not having ridden one, they seem to be designed primarily for straight line riding. There are, however, some designs emanating from Europe that are more appealing. If/when they become available in the US I will take a serious look at them. These trikes (or in some cases quads) are “leaners.” They lean into the corners like a motorcycle.

This winter, instead of gloomily staring at the walls, I am going to research these vehicles and pray that they become available here sooner rather than later. I’ll also say a prayer or two that with increased volume their costs come down. Seems they’re currently running $30,000 - $50,000 in Europe.

In the meantime I’m going to pretend I’m still a motorcyclist and start posting again as I find things that interest me.

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Discovered this photo of the Advanced Rider Training course in a forum post.

Although impressed by the concept of this motorcycle training and safety course when I first heard about it, I was not impressed by the fact it is held on a go kart track. But now, all I can think of to say is Wow!. This is not your grandfather’s (which I may be old enough to be) go kart track.

I think ART is a great concept and is a natural step in a rider’s education. Just as the BRC is a safer environment than the streets for learning the basics, ART is a safer environment than mountain roads and much less daunting and expensive than a track day for working on cornering skills. And unlike track days it is not just for the sportier bike crowd. The course is bike independent and is suited to cruisers and touring bikes as well as sportier models.

Click the link above to read Tempo’s (don’t know his real name but he is a Portland rider and has visited my blog) account of his day at Canby in the ART course.

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Laconia (New Hampshire) lodging owners normally reap big profits each year, during the nations 3rd largest bike week gathering, by raising their rates and requiring a minimum stay. But not this year. With bike week only days away most are reporting that reservations are way down. Of the 70 local lodging places only 5 are sold out. I wonder why. Hmmm, could it be the $250 nightly room rates?

Looks like our East Coast brothers and sisters are finally getting wise. Or maybe they’ve been hit by the economy and are paying closer attention to budgets. In either case many of them have decided to forego the local establishments in favor of cheaper lodging further away from the event. Source: Boston.com News

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