Riding through Spain to the H-D Rally in Jerez in June?

If you are, you might want to consider this law regarding listening to music or communications systems, which includes motorcycle communications systems.

Basically, the use of any music or communication system with headphones or earphones is illegal. That means ear-buds for listening to music, or even speakers inside your helmet for talking to pillions or to other riders, is prohibited. You might want to consider this before riding in Spain.

This is the relevant part of the law, translated by Google…..

23514 Royal Decree 1428/2003, of November 21, by which approves the General Regulation Circulation for the implementation and development articulated text of the Law on traffic, circulation motor vehicles and road safety, approved by Royal Legislative Decree 339/1990 of 2 March.

Article 18, says: Article 18. Other duties of drivers. 1. The driver of a vehicle must maintain their freedom of movement, the required field vision and ongoing attention to driving, to ensure their own safety, the rest of the vehicle occupants and other users of route. For this purpose , you must take special care maintain proper position and that maintain other passengers, and proper placement of the objects or animals transported for no interference between the driver and any of them ( Article 11.2 articulated text). It is considered incompatible with compulsory attendance driving permanent use by the driver with the vehicle moving devices such as screens with Internet access , television monitors and VCR or DVD. Exceptions to these effects, the use of screens that are in view of driver and whose use is necessary for vision Access or down pedestrians or vision vehicles with rear camera manoeuvres and GPS device. 2. It is prohibited to drive and use headphones or earphones connected to receivers or sound players, except for the corresponding teaching and conducting aptitude tests open for obtaining driving licenses circuit two-wheeled motorcycle when so required by the Regulations on Drivers. Use is prohibited while driving mobile devices and other means system or communication, unless the development Communication takes place without using hands or use headphones, earphones or similar instruments (Article 11.3, second paragraph of text articles). Exempted from this prohibition agents authority in the exercise of the functions that have entrusted (Article 11.3, third paragraph of text Articulated). 3. It is prohibited in vehicles mechanisms are installed
or systems, instruments are carried or upgraded manner designed to evade surveillance the traffic police, or to be issued or made signs for this purpose, and the use of mechanisms radar detection.

So, the law is quite clear and you mustn’t do this.

A few years back, a friend and I were riding through Spain and we were using a bike-to-bike communications system to talk to each other as we rode. Early one morning, we were stopped by the Guarda Civil who, having seen the cables leading into our helmets, told us we must disconnect these and stop using them. They were very polite and told us it was illegal and didn’t prosecute us and we clearly were surprised by this unusual law.

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Full Throttle: The Glory Days of British Motorbikes

This is a fantastic television programme about the early days of motorcycling in the UK. One of the opening lines of this BBC television programme sets the scene…

“By the 1950’s British motorbikes were the fastest, most desirable and coolest thing on two wheels anywhere in the world.”

I recently spent time at Bonneville in Utah with Mike Jackson, who is interviewed on the programme and described as a motorcycle historian. A real gent, Mike knows more about motorcycles than anyone else I have ever known.

What I like about this programme is the old film of British motorcycles and the people interviewed. Between them, they give real character and authority to the documentary.

The story of Brough Superior motorcycles is described and the love affair T.E.Lawrence had with the bikes is described. His words are very poetic when he writes about his riding “The burble of my exhaust unwound like a long cord behind me. Soon my speed snapped it, and I heard only the cry of the wind which my battering head split and fended aside. The cry rose with my speed to a shriek: while the air’s coldness streamed like two jets of iced water into my dissolving eyes. I screwed them to slits, and focused my sight two hundred yards ahead of me on the empty mosaic of the tar’s gravelled undulations.”

Of course, Lawrence was killed riding one of his Brough Supoeriors when swerving to avoid two boys on the road.

The sporting side of riding motorcycles and the communities it spawned are also featured in the programme. The short pieces of film at the Brooklands circuit are wonderful, as are those showing the early days of racing at the Isle of Man TT. The growth of Norton is discussed in the racing scene and how the rivalry between them and BMW was formed.

Just about all of the classic British manufacturers are mentioned in the programme, including the rise of Triumph and the café racers. Life at the famous Ace café is also featured.

Is it any wonder these old bikes are still lusted after?

It is a programme that must be watched!

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Good rider aids, or utter lunacy?

I tend to embrace technology. I love gadgets.

I also love motorcycles, but there is one thing I am very clear on. Using technology while on the move is the last thing a biker needs to do. We all know that to ride safely, we need to concentrate 100% on the road conditions ahead and we especially need to look at what other road users are doing. Anything that distracts bikers from concentrating on riding can only lead to problems.

I am therefore amazed at three motorcycle helmet manufacturers that are proposing to included on-board gadgets and technology within their helmets. Between them, they are suggesting we need Internet enabled helmets, with heads-up displays, inbuilt gps, the ability to make phone calls and send texts, see weather forecasts, and look at 180 degree rear view camera displays. Wait a minute, yes, all WHILE riding. Are they crazy? They all claim these sorts of features will help riders, but are they right?

Let’s look at what they are proposing.

Scully.

The guy presenting on the Scully video (see below) already struggles with being able to read a sign at the side of the road, let alone look at the in-view displays he is suggesting.   He says he slammed into the back of the car in front when looking at a sign when riding. That means he is unable to ride properly now.

This is the guy that wants to fill our heads with wait for it….. gps maps floating in front of me….. an internet enabled heads up display mobile platform that takes data from onboard sensors, gps and rear view camera and renders this up on a heads up display. It is claimed with its onboard micro-processor and Android based OS, it is the smartest helmet on the planet.

It also has a 180 degree rear view camera with a screen built into the helmet so enabling the rider to look behind and to the sides, while looking forward at the same time. The video suggests we could make and take phone calls. It even has a full screen gps view(!). It even invites other developers to suggest other apps that could be used on their platform. Other information says riders can send texts using voice commands WHILE RIDING. This is idiotic.

Just take a look at the video, especially 2:25 for about 25 seconds. This is where you see the rear view camera view in your field of vision. I guarantee when watching the this your eyes will dart about looking at the heads up display and you will not concentrate on the road ahead.

Anybody wanting to buy one of these might be attracted by the technology, but I certainly wouldn’t want one and more importantly, I wouldn’t want somebody riding behind me who was wearing one of these helmets.





Reevu

The first of the Reevu helmets have been available for some time and these existing models make some degree of sense as it gives a rear view of the road behind on a small screen just above your eye line. You do have to look up though and take your eyes off the road ahead. This though is not too dissimilar from moving your eyes to look in the mirrors mounted on your handlebars.

However, the new innovations that Reevu want to build into their new helmets take things to a different level. Here is one of their images.

It seems Reevu may be planning to connect the heads-up display to the motorcycle to show RPM, speed or fuel consumption, along with indicator repeaters and possibly high beam and neutral idiot lights. From their imagery, it looks like Reevu are also targeting heads-up gps. Can you possibly imagine trying to read this information while riding? The new helmets will use the small mirror above the eyeline for the rear view, plus it will also show the sort of information on the image above. Isn’t this too much to use while riding?


Nuviz

Nuviz claim the world’s first Head-Up display for motorcycle helmets.

This is different from the other two manufacturers as Nuviz is technology that gets mounted to the chin piece of existing helmets. This then projects a heads-up display onto the inside of the visor somehow. The type of information it displays ranges from gps maps and directions, weather forecasts, distance travelled, speed, estimated arrival time, gear selected, revs, as well as allowing telephone calls and listening to music.

It even allows you to take photographs and video. For the social media savvy, photos can be sent to your Facebook page while you ride. Yep, you read that right – WHILE YOU RIDE!

The system uses the Nuviz Ride Cloud app and once again, through mobile internet technology, this allows riders to share data such as routes before, after or even DURING the ride. Really, why?

Summary

Okay, so it looks as if this new technology may well be available soon – some of these manufacturers say the technology will be here in 2014, but one big questions remains. Will these gadgets help or hinder riders?

Some will love what is coming our way and will covet the technology for the sake of technology. That is okay, if it is safe to use. I have my doubts though, as riding needs 100% of your concentration all of the time. Gizmos that require us to move our view away from the road cannot be good, nor can the inevitable toggles and switches that we will need our hands to manipulate the data.

Is this really a good idea that will make riding easier, or is it utter lunacy, dreamed up to exploit a potential market? Time will tell.

I won't be rushing to buy any of it.

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Alexandra Palace Ace Cafe Show

Last weekend saw the Ace Cafe London Motorcycle and Custom Show take place. For those of you that don’t know, the Ace Cafe is very famous in London as being one of the main (if the THE main) motorcycle cafes in the UK.







This year the “Ace” sponsored the new format motorbike show at Alexandra Palace. At present, this is a low key show with none on the big manufacturers attending – it is more for the man or woman that likes custom bikes and oil under their fingernails. This makes it a small but special show in a great location.


Alexandra Palace was originally built in 1873 as a public centre of recreation, education and entertainment. In 1936 it became the headquarters of the world's first regular public television service, operated by the BBC. Its famous radio mast is still used today. Londoner’s affectionate nickname for the building is “Ally Pally”.



The show was over three days and whilst Friday was a quiet day in terms of the number of people attending, Saturday and Sunday were busy, despite some pretty appalling weather.

The custom bike show was one of the rounds of the AMD World Championship, so it was an important event for the custom motorcycle industry here in the UK. The selected winner of best in show would be allowed to enter his/her bike into the Grand Final taking place in Sturgis in August, so there was keen interest in the event. The £20,000 prize money drew some attention as well.

One of the differences between this custom bike show and many others is how the judging is done. Many shows simply have one or a small number of judges selecting what they think are the winners and that’s it. This method can throw up some odd results with the personal preferences of a single or small number of people having a large impact on the result. The way the AMD does it is much fairer, with all entrants and a selected number of guest judges all voting. In this way, a wide selection of views and opinions by people who know about motorcycles choose the winners – much better.

Here are a number of photos from the show.....

I have left the winning bike until last....

If you don’t like custom bikes, look away now....


Stunning paintwork....
































One of the bikes belonging to a friend, Ian of 7 Ages Custom Motorcycles....


















A green monster....

















A Roland Sands inspired bobber....
















Nice springer front end....





































A bit long....















A lovely old Ducati, that I know a German ex-pat would like....
















The usual traders helmets, jackets etc....































My red bike in the show....



































And now, the three eventual winners....
















A stunning piece of engineering....















Beautiful....
















Many thanks to Andrew Harbron, who is the editor and chief photographer of the London Bikers website for letting me use some of his pictures.

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London Motorcycle Show

I went to the London Motorcycle Show on Friday and I must admit I was a tad disappointed. Considering London is a major global City, the show was quite small and whilst most of the major bike manufacturers were there, there were some missing. KTM for example. However, after not being at the other major bike show in the UK at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham at the end of last year, it was good to see both Harley-Davidson and Ducati at the London show. Overall though, it was just a bit small and I wondered if this was just a sign of the financial crisis but then I remembered I had been to the same exhibition centre about three weeks ago for the London Boat Show and compared to that the bike show was less than half the size of the boat show. There were just less stands and vendors at the bike show than I had expected.

I did see some interesting bikes, some neat bike accessories for sale, and some friends. I even bought a new helmet for my tour of the USA – something subtle and understated.

Here are some pictures from the show........



The new crash helmet I bought especially for my US tour!!....













A Moto Guzzi concept bike....














A really nice restored Triton....














A low custom bike that I liked the look of....














The engine of a beautiful trike by Destiny Cycles....














Another stunning bike by Destiny Cycles....



















The new Norton Commando....














A wicked looking drag bike....
















Not my thing, but these Ducati's looked fantastic....
















A Victory that had been given the Cory Ness treatment....














Sunglasses feeling unloved, waiting patiently for somebody to buy them....

















Friends Ron and Caroline Brett who run Brett Tours – a European wide motorcycle touring company....



















I did take a few pictures of the new Harley-Davidson 48 Sportster – probably my favourite new stock bike at the show, but the pictures were all out of focus (so I lifted this one from a H-D site).....

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USA Helmet Laws

Being somewhat confusing for riders from outside of the USA, each State has its own helmet laws that say whether you must wear a helmet, you can choose to wear one if you are over a certain age, or there are some States that do not have a helmet law. The map below shows what the current situation is with each State.
Red means you don't have to wear a helmet.
Blue normally means you dont have to wear a helmet if you are over a certain age (check on the link below)
Green means you must wear a helmet
(Click on the map for greater detail)
















For further information see http://www.iihs.org/laws/HelmetUseCurrent.aspx

Now I am definitely not saying that you should or should not wear a helmet if you are riding in the States – that is up to you. But, you should know what the laws are, so as well as looking at whether you have a choice to wear a helmet or not, there are other laws that you should consider like;

· Do you have to wear eye protection?
· Must you have a headlight on?
· Can you wear headphones?
· Is lane sharing / splitting allowed?

For the answers to these questions in any of the States you might be considering visiting, see
http://motorcycleinfo.calsci.com/PrintLaws.html

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