California Police switching to electric motorcycles

I made an earlier post about the electric motorcycle made by Zero, they currently had four models with a very anticipated 5th model coming out soon. I had also made a post about how the Governor of California made a law where any California registered bike after 2013 would require a stamp on the muffler indicating that it meets noise requirements. Well California is going to take another step towards going green by having motorcycle cops ride the electric Zero motorcycle. Of course its not going to replace all the bikes and for now its not going to be the whole state but rather only in Scotts Valley.

This is going to have its positive and negative effects as all new ventures do, first of all the new electric bikes are capable of reaching highway speeds and the electric motor combined with the light weight bike can provide the rider with instant torque and fast acceleration. However the downsides are the bike has a limited distance it can ride on a single charge and with charging stations far and few between compared  to gas stations these bikes will have serious limitations.

Those familiar with the state of California know its over population and heavy traffic has created a dense smog cloud that covers the populated area of Los Angeles and other areas. I think that this is a great step towards making California a cleaner place to live, having the public servants like the police setting the example by riding the green environment electric motorcycles is a great example for the people to follow. I personally don’t like many of the actions taken by the movie star governor but at least he can make one good call.

Helmet laws might become mandatory in all 50 states

For now there is no national law on motorcycles as far as helmets and other safety gear, but that might be changing in the near future. In North Carolina their helmet law which was signed in 1968 has bee fighting against all odds and still managed to survive. Congress removed the tie that a helmet law was required to receive state funding for highways. Some states only requires that younger riders wear helmets and other states only require that you wear eye protection.
The National Transportation Safety Board is (NTSB) is looking to change that law and make them mandatory in all 50 states, this will more than likely sit well with a lot of riders since about 50% of riders out there do not wear helmets while they ride, and about 5% of those that do only wear them on long rides or on the interstates. Statistics show that there are about 12 bike accident deaths a day in the United States and they believe that these fatalities will go down once riders are required to wear helmets. This rider for one knows that a helmet can save your life and even though I will not press to make it a mandatory law, I would make all the people I know or care about wear one.
There are opposition groups that feel these numbers of deaths are greatly exaggerated and the number is much lower, more over they feel the helmet law will greatly affect the number of fatalities. Whether or not the numbers have beeb manipulated or not there is one fact that remains for certain, if you smack your head on the pavement in an accident, the chances that you head will sustain only minor injury greatly increase when its protected. Some helmets provide more protection then others and really I believe its up to the rider to say how much their life is worth and if they would rather wear a helmet to save their life.

How do you know when you are born to ride?

          I was talking to a riding buddy of mine and he asked me "so you think your a true rider?" I said yes without thinking but the question caught up to me later on and I had to ask myself again how do you know? I have been compiling a group of questions and requirements to becoming a true rider and I want to run them by you as another point of view on the subject.

1. A true rider has motorcycles and riding on the brain more then 50% of the day
2. True riders will never pass up a chance to ride as long as it doesn't impede on something important that needs to be done. 
3. A true rider will either have rode across a few states or make plans to one day make a ride across the country. 
4. True riders take rides that can last a whole day more and can span between 200 to 700 miles often. 
5. True riders can do down and get back on the bike again. 

          If we are going to have a list of things that true riders will do then we have to have a list of things that true riders will never do. 

1. True riders will never look down on another rider for ability or type of bike they have. 
2. True riders can look past the stereotype that cruisers and sport bikes cannot ride together and will have no problem going on a ride with the other type. 
3. True riders never go without motorcycles if their circumstances allow it. 

All true riders are friends with and support other riders on the road, they will wave to other riders in passing and look for people to ride with when possible. Of course I cannot come up will all the criteria for true riders and I hope that I can get some input from some other riders. 

Sportbike takes third in race

This is a post from my other blog, a sportbike has taken third in a race. You wont believe the story http://realridersmc.wordpress.com/ 

A new blog

Hey readers I just wanted to let you know that there will be a new blog that I am going to be working on, I will still be posting on this one, the other on https://realridersmc.wordpress.com/ is still about motorcycles but it is going to be a little different. It is going to focus more on facts, advice, techniques, technical advice, and safety. Will be including some video posts and possible some products to give away. Thanks for your support in reading I really hope that I can give you the tools that will make you a better, safer rider. Again check out the new blog https://realridersmc.wordpress.com/

Wear helmets while riding? Some states yes some states maybe.....

          Today I was talking to my wife about riding and the different states that I have ridden in, the subject of helmets came up and whether or not it’s required that you wear a helmet. Illinois was the first state that I rode in and there is no helmet law, in fact the only requirement was eye protection. I was riding on my permit (which in IL means you always have to ride with a licensed rider during the day, no riding on the interstate, and no passengers); well I was riding without a helmet or eye protection and with someone on the back. I was pulled over by a cop who told me that I had to ride up to the next gas station and buy eye protection for my passenger and he or myself was going to give me a ticket. This example shows that in some states the laws are pretty loose for riders, which isn't always a bad thing but when we are talking about motorcycle safety, those who have been through the worst know its a big deal. 

          For years I would never wear a helmet, I wanted people to see who I was and I wanted to be completely free from any barrier. There were many times that while I was not wearing a helmet I had some close calls with going down. When I moved to California and re-enlisted into the Marines, not only was there a state law for wearing a helmet but also the Marines made you wear several different items of safety gear. It was at this time when I was in a bad accident and almost killed, when I landed on the ground after flying about 40 feet I smacked my helmet on the ground so hard that it knocked my visor off, scratched the crap out of my helmet, and knocked my vision blurry for almost 3 months. After I was released from the hospital I had to attend a rehab clinic in Long Beach for a couple weeks while I learned to walk and move around in my current state, (I was confined mostly to a wheel chair but I did have a contraption that allowed me to hop around on one foot while strapping my arms into some brackets to support them without putting weight on my wrists). While I was there I met another service member who had to have been in rehab for years. He was involved in a motorcycle accident however he wasn't wearing a helmet. I felt so bad for this guy and at the same time I was scared, I never used to wear a helmet and I was lucky that the time I did go down I was fully protected. This guy was confined to a wheel chair and was dependent on nurses to take care of him for the rest of his life; he was left to drool on himself and never to have a conversation with another human again. I have seen many people who have gone down but no one who has been that bad.

         I debate with a lot of riders about wearing their helmets has they ride, my parents never liked it when I would go riding without wearing my helmet and now I know why. Most riders tell me they don’t wear helmets because it messes up their hair, others say they think its cooler to ride without one, saying things like “I’m not a pussy I don’t need a helmet.” 

         Take a look at my helmet and tell me if I was a pussy for wearing my helmet? This helmet is hard and made to withstand a heavy blow, your head is not so if a crash can do this to your helmet, then what do you think it can do to your face? Think about it. 

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