MotoGP Silverstone

Woohoo! My VIP ticket has arrived!

Julie treated me to a special ticket for my 'special' birthday, and I've had to contain my excitement since January. Now the ticket has arrived, and it's all coming together.

On Sunday 1 September my son, Alex, and I will be up at dawn and heading north to Silverstone. When we get there we will be treated to breakfast, balcony viewing of the days racing, lunch, and the VIP works.

I'll post a photo round up after the event.

Another Vid on YouTube

Whenever I ride I always clip on my Drift HD helmet camera. You never know when you'll need that little electronic witness.

On the days I work in Winchester I usually use the M27 / M3 to get there in the morning, and have a relaxed ride home across Morestead Down. On 14 August, as I had heard on the local radio - Jack FM, actually - that the M27 was blocked due to an accident, I decided to go in to work over the downs.

It was a sunny morning, which made the contrast between shadow and bright sun difficult for the camera to adjust to. My view, as the rider, was better than the video shows because the good old human eye works better than the best lenses in that department.

Anyway, of the 40 or so minutes I travelled to work, these seven are the best - overtaking!

I've got a leisurely ride planed for the beginning of September, I'll try and get some interesting footage for you.

Here's today's offering - The Morning Rush Hour

The bike is my Honda FJS600 Silver Wing, and the route is from Park Gate, through Burridge, Bishops Waltham and Morestead on B, and unclassified roads.

An observed ride

For reasons I shall keep to myself, for the time being, I have switched my allegiance from the IAM (Institute of Advanced Motorcyclists) to RoSPA's RoADAR (RoSPA Advanced Drivers and Advanced Riders).

It was my second ride out with my new observer, the first was about as wet as you'd like and in the growing gloom of a murky evening. This time we took the Silver Wing and his GS1200 from Ower Services on the A36 up to Romsey, Otterbourne, Wickham and Denmead, crossing back to Burger King at Hedge End for a debrief.

The Honda behaved perfectly, and I received favourable comments from the observer. In all, a good morning's ride, with constructive advice, and a good chat about the biking world.

What a different ride. Nearly 100 miles, by the time I got home, and in the dry, and in the daylight. Much more progressive. No Drift-cam footage unfortunately, but I will get some more on YouTube as soon as I can find something to entertain you.

Hampshire RoADAR can be found at : http://www.roadar-hants.org.uk/index.html
The group is not very active, unlike the IAM, but are helpful if you contact them. Why not join? With some new blood, things could be a lot different.

Home movies

Though I have recorded many hours of tarmac and traffic, none has been completely newsworthy. But I have found it interesting to review a few situations and learn from what I see.

I have tried editing with Serif Movie Plus, Apple iMovies and Windows Live Movie Maker. iMovies has the nicest transitions, and Serif a pretty good work space, but the best results overall seem to be with Windows.

There are three clips on YouTube, so far:

Winchester to Bishops Waltham 3Apr13 - highlights of a run home from Winchester across Morestead Down

NewForestShortcut 28Apr13 - On a run to Bovingdon Tank Museum we took a shortcut across the New Forest using the B3078

Rush hour traffic 2May13 - A short clip of rush hour traffic, and how not to filter

All these clips a from the Drift attached to the side of my crash helmet, in wide angle at 1080p and 30 fps

Let me know what you think ...

Watching them ...

As a motorcyclist, you become very aware of your vulnerability. You are exposed, not only to the elements, but also to the vehicles and hazards that surround you on your journey. Any sensible motorcyclist will take additional training to boost their skills - Skills for Life, as the IAM advertise them.

The principles of advanced riding - or driving - are, to observe everything that is going on around you, and to respond appropriately to the hazards that you see. You need to be in the right position on the road, travelling at the right speed, in the right gear, ready to react to the developing situation.

But, of course, things don't always go according to plan. For whatever reason, it is sometimes good to have someone on your side, when all there is, is the 'it wasn't my fault' situation. And just for such times I have invested in a helmet / dashboard camera, to record the antics of the average British motorist with  whom I share the roads.

The Drift HD has various mounts, a sucker for the windscreen, clips for the helmet and a couple of others. So far I've used it once in the car and once on the bike, and I'm pleased with the results. There is nothing exciting to show, but I have done some editing to remove the boring bits and added some fading for the scene changes and titles. My first production is on YouTube at:

http://youtu.be/u64jNrNb12I

Things I've learned; the camera was too low, I got too much dashboard. I reduced the resolution to keep the file size small, but the picture is grainy when when shown full screen, so I will experiment with the full 1080p setting (although it was better before it was put through the editing software). View from the helmet mount is good, but the audio is drowned out by wind noise.

I'll try and get some interesting footage for you...

Icy March Ride-out

Sunday is the day when all good motorcyclists go for a ride-out.

I could have gone with the Solent Advanced Motorcyclists - but they decided that the weather was not suitable, a tad chilly with the possibility of snow, and cancelled their run. Instead I went with two other Silver Wing owners for a thrash round Hampshire and Surrey.

We met at Petersfield, to the accompaniment of snow flurries and temperatures hovering around 0C (32F). Our plan was to head for Winchester along the A272, but as it was closed we headed north towards Farnham, and then west to England's ancient capital.

We dropped into the city via the A31, acknowledging King Alfred as we passed his statue. As we found that the Rifle Regiment's museum was closed, we headed back into the city for food and a chat.

Then it was time for the return journey, north to London for the others and south towards Fareham for me.

Nearly 100 miles covered (more for the Londoners) and new friends made. A good day, I'd say.

Outside the Rifles Rgt Museum.
They only sell The Wing in three colours in the UK; black, blue and silver 

Rhapsody in Blue

I've been talking about a new bike for some time, well the deed has been done.
I spent a lot of time considering what I wanted from motorcycle, and after considering the options I've settled on the Honda Silver Wing.

The 'Wing is a 600cc maxi-scooter, capable of more than 100mph, and with its CV transmission, rapid acceleration. For me the selling points were the on-board storage, and its weather protection.
I took delivery from Farnham Honda just over a week ago and I've covered 350 miles in some of England's finest winter downpours.

Already I'm glad to have made the change, and I'm glad I took the offer of Farnham Honda to take a demonstrator out for a few hours - an offer not matched by any other dealer in my area.

Honda out - Suzuki in

I rode out with an IAM group on Sunday, and apart from a few sideways glances, we all got along fine. The ride was along some very dirty, leafy, wet and slimy Sussex lanes. I kept up, and did everything that the 'big boys' did, including the flood water, so once she's loosened up we'll be pushing my friendly observer for some road time.

Out to play at Goodwood - spot the Silver Wing

Still looking ...

I'm still looking around for the perfect new machine, big scooter, adventure bike, tourer? Anyway in the mean time the GS500f is still doing good service, We are just about to clock 16000 miles.

I've got some time off work coming soon, so I will be booking a test ride on a Honda Silverwing, and paying a visit to my local BMW dealer, as I found that their prices weren't as bad as I had originally thought. Might even give Triumph a glance.

While my search for a new bike continues, I am occupying my spare time by warming up for the Institute of Advanced Motorcyclists (IAM) test. I've done a couple of observed runs under the watchful eye of my allocated observer and I'm glad to say that what I learned 25 years ago (30 years for my car training) has stuck with me, and I just need some fine tuning to bring me back up to standard.

Dave, my mentor, has bought a bike mounted camera so that he can film the ride and play it back with his comments - video evidence, guilty as charged! I think it is a good teaching tool, as they say a picture paints a thousand words, and you can see exactly where it all goes wrong. He is experimenting with it to see how useful it is.

I don't suppose you want to see the video, do you ... ?

...

You do?

...

Are you sure?

...

OK then.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KWnp4W9Blg8&feature=plcp

A Change is as good as ...

I've had the Suzuki GS500F for nearly two years, and covered loads of miles! Now the engine has loosened up she really flies. She still returns over 65 mpg, too. But is it time to think about trading her for something different, or should I keep her 'til she's knackered?

The other thing to consider is whether I should look for a motorcycle or scooter? The bike handles really well, but the Burgman I had before also handled well, only let down by the smaller diameter wheels. But the 'big scoots' have better weather protection and on-board storage. Whereas 'proper motorcycles' perform better. Bit of a quandary.

Honda Deauville

My thoughts so far ...
1 - I shall be commuting for the next few years, so if I splash out on a bike I will want it to be reliable, and not too expensive to run.
2 - I only commute. I don't ride for pleasure, although this may change later, but is not a big consideration now.
3 - I need at least 400cc - I have to travel on motorways a lot. I don't want to go bigger than about 650cc otherwise servicing costs become expensive.
4 - The GS500F has a sports fairing which offers minimal protection from the weather. The Burgman that I owned before, was better in inclement weather.
5 - The GS has no on-board storage, so I wear a rucksack. Big scoots have under-seat storage of varying sizes. I'm not fond of top-boxes as they have an adverse effect on handling.

Suzuki Burgman 400

What have I found ...
Motorcycle-wise, I like the Honda Deauville. The new model is 700cc, it has a good sized screen and has shaft drive. Suzuki, Yamaha and Kawasaki have nothing comparable, BMW are too big, too expensive and Triumph have nothing that appeals. The next best thing would possibly be a Suzuki Vstrom, Kawasaki Versys, HondaTransalp  or Yamaha Tenere which are all 650cc, but a more 'adventure bike' stance.

Big scoots, well, Suzuki have Burgmans of 400cc and 650cc, Honda has the 600cc Silver Wing, Yamaha the 400cc Majesty and the 500cc TMax. Aprillia have their big 850cc, which although bigger, is cheaper than some others.

Yamaha TMax

There is also the Sym MaxSym. A 400cc scoot whose lines are similar to the small Burgman. Piaggio have the new X10 at 350cc. Pity they are not importing the X10, 500cc. Perhaps I should take a trip to Europe.

But there is no rush, any ideas or suggestions from you avid readers out there?

Spring in the air ... or is it?

After a few days of sunshine and dry roads, I got the feeling that spring had arrived.
The GS500F has been going well all winter. She was serviced at 11350 miles, 2000 miles ago, and has just gone in for her annual MOT test (for those outside the UK, this is a test of road-worthiness carried out by government certified inspectors). Other than a liberal covering of road grime and filth there is nothing wrong.
Being able to ride on dry roads is a real pleasure, excitement returns to the bends and the bike's full potential can be used.

The 500 cc air-cooled twin is still returning 65-70 mph (Imperial) depending on whether I do the slow, stop-start route to Gosport or Fareham, or the flowing motorway route to Winchester or Havant (or the occasional blast into the New Forest).

It must have been because I cleaned it, because the weather has recently taken a turn for the worse, lots of English rain. Next week I gotta go back to work after a week's holiday. Apart from having to do a full, five day stint, the first day is due to be a long trip to Frimley Park, in Surrey. Let's hope it's a dry day, otherwise, after 50 miles, I'll arrive pretty soggy. Then there will be the run home ...

 M3 between J4 and J4a - © Copyright Nigel Cox and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence

Black and yellow means danger

Nature has a fine way of warning us about dangerous things. Wasps and bees are famous for their colouration; black and yellow. As soon as you spot one your blood runs cold with fear. The only thing you can expect from a wasp is pain. Bees are slightly less aggressive, but can be just as painful. Everybody hates these nasty creatures and goes to great lengths to avoid them. (OK, bees are not bad if they keep their distance.)

These same principles apply to cyclists. They, too, dress in black and yellow. The pretext being to be highly visible and keep the rider safe. In reality this particular species of humanoid is displaying its warning to those around, that it is a threat to their health.

These individuals lack the ability to keep themselves safe, instead they they wobble aimlessly along public roads on bicycles. They are unaware of other vehicles, pedestrians, road junctions or traffic signals. If there is no danger on the road, they will create it by riding on the footpaths.

The only way to protect yourself from these threats to humanity, is be observant, keep your distance, and be prepared. Their movements are unpredictable, they can appear, unannounced, from a side street, ride in the centre of the lane, or turn across your path without warning.

Their colouration is most appropriate - they are dangerous.

Two Seconds Rule

97% of all road accicents are caused by driver error - following too close is one of the errors most often cited.

 

So what's all this stuff about the 'two second rule'?

At 30 miles an hour, a car travels 88 feet (26.83 metres) in two seconds.

A fit, alert and attentive human being, concentrating on the road ahead and the traffic around them would have a reaction time of at least 0.6 second. This means, if the brake lights of the car in front come on, it takes 0.6 second for your eyes to tell your brain to apply the foot brake, and for your foot to start lifting off the accelerator. Next, your foot has to travel from the accelerator and across to the brake pedal, before you can apply pressure and slow the car.
At 30 mph, you are already nearly 30 feet (9 metres) closer to the car in front.

Once you've applied pressure to the foot brake and the brake pads start to bite against the discs the car will begin to slow down and eventually stop. When it does it will have travelled another 46 feet (14 metres).

The above figures are the best case scenario. If your car's brakes are poorly maintained, or tyres not in tip-top condition, or the road surface is wet or greasy, the distances mentioned above will be greater; much greater.

So, if you are travelling two seconds behind, you should have a pretty good chance of not running into the back of the car in front.

How do I know when I am two seconds behind?

Pick a mark on the road, say a bridge's shadow, or manhole cover. As the car in front crosses the shadow, say to yourself, "Only a fool, breaks the two second rule." This should take you about two seconds. If you cross the same mark before you have completed the sentence, you are too close. Aim to be far enough behind to complete the sentence before you reach the mark. Easy.


But what if I am travelling faster than 30, will the two second rule still work?

Yes, it is a useful guide. The faster you go, the greater distance is covered in two seconds; 176 feet (54 metres) at 60 mph. But, the Highway Code suggests that stopping distances get proportionately longer - 240 feet, 73 metres - so, speak more slowly.

When you are next on the motorway, check to see if you are complying with the Two Seconds Rule, and if not ... Back Off!

Just for fun you can test your reaction time here:

http://www.mathsisfun.com/games/reaction-time.html

... and check out stopping distances here:

http://www.passingplacedriving.co.uk/stoppingdistances.html