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WARNING!
If you carry any bug spray with “DEET” in your bike, beware! A rider
had
a pump spray of “OFF” in the trunk pocket of his bike. The spray
bottle tipped over and the “OFF”
leaked out. It melted the plastic in
the pocket, dripped onto the right-hand saddlebag and the paint
started to bubble-up,
and melted the casting on the antenna wire and
other wiring that was in that area. On the inside part of the saddlebag
by
the rear wheel, the plastic started to melt. The plastic is now like
soft rubber. The rider contacted Johnson and Johnson,
who said
“DEET’ does not mix with rubber and some plastics. They also said
they were sorry to hear about
the problem. How nice! It only caused
about $600 of damage!
Find out About Riding and Your Hearing
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Most motorcyclists understand the effects of a "silent killer" which follows them every time they enjoy riding their bikes.
Unfortunately, several people still believe the causes of hearing loss are due to how loud the bike sounds, and/or that it
affects only the people who do not wear full shell helmets. This is true to a certain degree.
Based on several research
studies, the major contributor to hearing loss in the motorcycle industry remains the "silent killer" known as "wind noise."
Generically termed as the amount of noise turbulence produced around the head while the rider is in motion. Its inherited
consequences result in irreversible hearing loss damage over a period of time when adequate hearing protection is not worn.
Similar
to the shooting and aviation industries, if this issue is not addressed correctly from the beginning the amount of exposure
to the inner ear is compounded every time the rider ventures out on his/her bike for hours at a time. Constant duration of
harmful level noises gradually force the rider into becoming another statistic of the "silent killer."
To put this in perspective, according to OSHA's regulation of industrial noise exposure, an average worker surrounded by
levels around 85-90dB for an eight hour day will not exceed the limits of exposure time within a 24 hour period of time.
However, when the sound levels exceed 100dB, your exposure time is reduced to two hours. When sound levels exceed 115dB,
your exposure time is drastically reduced to 15 minutes. This puts riding a bike a whole other realm as "wind noise" at highway
speeds can measure up to 103dB, or comparable to a running chainsaw. At these levels the rider is not only fatiguing physically
from the excess noise exposure, but it also puts him into a position of needing a hearing aid later in life.
Another
common ailment of motorcycle riding is a condition known as "Temporary Threshold Shift," commonly referred to as TTS by audiologists
and hearing healthcare professionals. TTS is caused by excessive noise exposure for a duration of time, which drops your actual
acute hearing pattern to a lower level temporarily. Meaning, your hearing is less than what it was before the initial exposure.
Continuous TTS exposure will result in permanent damage.
Everyone has experienced this phenomenon at one time or another, whether it is from going to loud dance halls, or concerts,
or even work. Even some of today's movie theatres can cause this to happen, but this is a specific certainty for motorcyclists
who disregard adequate hearing protection while riding their bike.
Riding position and style of windshield help in preventing "silent killers" ability to fully be experienced. But even the
best helmets on today's marketplace provide little help when considering "wind noise" levels at normal highway speeds. Obviously,
this factor is increased in half shell models as well as skullcaps, but the common helmets used in today's marketplace are
designed to fit entirely over the head providing a snug fit. These types of helmets have the best attenuation value (reduction
in noise) regardless of any airflow modifications done to the outside. But these helmets still produce wind noise readings
of 110 to 116dB's, from 35mph to highway speeds. When reflecting back to the comparison chart, 116dB will only be suitable
for 15 minutes of riding a day. Not a lot of time to enjoy your hobby.... Is it?
Although there are several versions of hearing protection devices on the market, a custom set of earmolds is still the
best answer in suppressing sound. They provide excellent attenuation values and are comfortable to wear for extended periods
of time. They can even be molded with high-grade transducers, which allow for stereo compatibility or communications. To find
out more about these products search under our "Product Links" listed on the navigation bar.
We also suggest checking with your local state officials on the regulations of wearing hearing protection. Several states
have motorcycle laws regarding earplug use. For a quick reference, see the AMA web pages on State Motorcycle Laws - http://www.ama-cycle.org/amaccess/laws/.
- There is no significant difference in wind noise level as a function of speed, no matter what the helmet brand or model
(all being full coverage).
- Neither the riding position nor the brand or style of motorcycle make significant difference in noise level.
- Padding inside the helmet, open or closed vents, or added weather stripping on the helmet to alter flow patterns, does
not significantly alter the noise level in a helmet.
- Stopped at a stop light at a busy intersection with your helmet visor closed produces a sound level of 80-90dB SPL. (Lawn
mower, loud restaurant levels)
- When not wearing a helmet, the wind noise at highway speed is nearly 10 times greater than when wearing a full coverage
helmet.
- Below 30mph, machine, exhaust and environmental noises are heard. Once speeds exceed approximately 30mph, wind noise dominates
completely.
- Some helmets resonate at approximately 500Hz, and actually enhance wind noise.
- Legal speeds of 65mph can produce wind noise levels at 103dB SPL, (chainsaw, pneumatic drill). This noise is loud enough
to cause TTS in your hearing, tinnitus and permanent ear damage.
Notations:
Do You Hear What I Hear, Parts 1 and 2/David L.
Hough/MotorcycleWorld.com
Do You Hear What I Hear, Part 3/Norm Matzen/Motorcycle Consumer News, November 1999 Comparison
Charts/A.W. McCombe, 1994
Noise Levels Under Motorcycle Helmets, Mike Lower, D.W. Hurst, A.R. Claughton and A. Thomas,
1994, 1996/ISVR Consultancy Services
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Insta-Putty
Temporary silicone ear
protection. Used for water and noise protection, Insta-Putty is designed to be comfortable and inexpensive. Insta-Putty fits
both children and adults without difficulty. Other uses include meditation and sleeping. Order some today from E.A.R. Inc. or your nearest provider. |
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Coast to Coast Biker News
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AIM/NCOM MOTORCYCLE E-NEWS: Coast to Coast Biker News
THE AIM/NCOM MOTORCYCLE E-NEWS SERVICE is brought
to you by Aid to Injured Motorcyclists (A.I.M.) and the National Coalition of Motorcyclists (NCOM), and is sponsored by the
Law Offices of Richard M. Lester.
NCOM COAST TO COAST BIKER NEWS
Compiled & Edited by Bill Bish, National Coalition of Motorcyclists
HOUSE
APPROVES TRANSPORTATION ACT, INCLUDING MOTORCYCLE SAFETY INITIATIVES
The U.S. House of Representatives has voted overwhelmingly
to approve a six-year $284 billion
transportation funding measure, which includes provisions to expand state rider training
programs and other motorcycle safety initiatives. H.R. 3550, the "Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy For Users" (TEA
LU), was passed by a vote of 357-56 on April 2, 2004. The U.S. Senate approved a similar measure, S. 1072, the "Safe, Accountable,
Flexible, and Efficient Transportation Equity Act" (SAFE-TEA), by a vote of 76-21 on February 12. The Senate version
reauthorizes $318 billion over the next six years to fund highway, mass transit and safety programs, but does not include
language specifically addressing motorcycle safety concerns. Both bills will now go to a conference committee, comprised of
both Senators and Representatives, to iron out discrepancies between the two and submit a final bill to the President for
his signature or veto. The White House has proposed an alternative $256 billion transportation package, and President
Bush has threatened to veto the
legislation if costs exceeded that amount.
WISCONSIN LAW PROTECTS HELMETLESS RIDERS Wisconsin Governor James Doyle
signed a bill on Monday,
March 15, that will ensure that motorcyclists who choose not to wear helmets
do not face reduced awards in personal injury
cases if they are involved in accidents. In ruling on an ATV accident two years ago, the Wisconsin Supreme Court said
that a jury could consider a person's decision not to wear a helmet if they received a head injury in a crash involving a
"high speed open air motor vehicle," and reduce the amount of lawsuit damages paid to that person by up to 100%. Wisconsin
only requires helmets be worn by motorcycle riders and passengers under 18 years old. "What we're saying in Wisconsin
is that if you do something that is in compliance with the law,
it will not be held against you," said Governor Doyle in
signing Senate Bill 223.
S.223, which effectively nullifies the court's 2002 decision by dropping the allowable reduction amount
to zero%, was authored by ardent motorcyclist Senator Dave Zien at the request of ABATE of Wisconsin. Zien, one of the
founders of the bikers' rights movement in Wisconsin and a longtime member of the National Coalition of Motorcyclists Legislative
Task Force (NCOM-LTF), says the new law prevents discrimination against motorcyclists by courts and insurance companies. Zien
maintains that helmets contribute to accidents by reducing head mobility, vision and hearing. Helmet chin straps also
can contribute to neck injuries during accidents, he said. "For the motorcycle community, we don't want to be forced
to wear helmets," Zien told the Lacrosse Tribune.
HELMET WEARING MAY BE A TAXING PROPOSITION Safety or protective
helmets will be exempt from Pennsylvania's state sales tax under legislation sponsored by Representative Allan
Egolf (R-Perry
and Franklin) and unanimously approved by the House on March 24th. "Many children and adults enjoy activities such as
horseback riding, bicycling, roller-blading and motorcycle riding where helmets are either required or recommended for the
safety of the participant," said Egolf, an avid bicyclist. "I believe it is important to encourage the use of safety
helmets whether they are mandated or not," he said. "I believe that eliminating the sales tax on these purchases is an incentive
to encourage helmet use." "What parent would refuse to buy something they believed would help
protect their kids
because they didn't want to pay a few dollars in sales tax?," queried John Mullendore, ABATE of Pennsylvania's Legislative
Coordinator and a member of the NCOM
Board of Directors, adding "It passed 194-0." Pennsylvania repealed their helmet
law for adult
motorcyclists last year. HB-417 will now be considered in the Senate.
BAY STATE RIDERS WIN RIGHT TO LIDLESS PARADES Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney signed House Bill
206, an act allowing adult motorcyclists the "freedom of choice" to not wear a helmet while riding in a parade. HB 206, sponsored
by Representative Demetrius Atsalis, provides an
exception to the state's mandatory helmet law that "No protective head
gear be required if a motorcyclist is participating in a properly permitted public parade and is 18 years or older,? explained
Paul Cote, Legislative Director for the Massachusetts Motorcycle Association (MMA), adding that "This is the fifth motorcyclists'
bill passed in the last four years!" The new law is scheduled to take effect in 90 days, which lands right before the
MMA's "STORM the State House" lobbying day on Thursday, May 20th. MMA leaders have already begun securing "parade permits"
from the cities of Somerville and Boston, so the "STORM" could be one of the first helmet "choice" permitted parades;
riding to the
State House to thank legislators and lobby for other bills still pending, including Senate Bill 1363-- the
full "helmet choice" for all adult riders.
BILL FILED TO RE-ENACT LOUISIANA HELMET LAW A bill that would reverse a law pushed through the Legislature
by former Governor Mike "Big Daddy" Foster giving adult motorcycle riders the option of wearing helmets has been filed in
the Senate. Senator Joel Chaisson II, D-Destrehan, filed Senate Bill 29, which mandates all motorcycle riders to wear
helmets with padding, a visor and a chin strap. That was the law until five years ago when Foster helped persuade lawmakers
to allow a choice for riders older than 18 who are covered by at least a $10,000 health insurance policy and
furnish proof
of insurance to police if stopped. Foster, an avid motorcyclist, has always characterized the law he promoted as one
aimed at giving adults a choice of wearing or not wearing a helmet. No state has enacted a helmet law since Maryland
in 1996, but six states have repealed their helmet laws since then; Arkansas, Texas, Kentucky, Louisiana,
Florida and Pennsylvania,
making 31 states that currently allow adult freedom of choice. Let's not go backwards!
AUSTRALIAN RIDERS MOUNT FRONT
PLATE PROTEST The Motorcycle Riders Association (MRA) of Victoria is up in arms over a proposal to require Aussie bikers
to affix license plates to the front of their motorcycles so that they can be identified from the front for tolls and for
speed cameras. MRA Victorian president Alex Money said the group is planning a protest to alert the general public as
to how much money the government would waste in the move. "We just
want the public to know the Victorian government
is spending $14 million to introduce motorcycle front number plates," he explained, noting that speed cameras in New South
Wales take photographs from behind. Tollway operator Transurban has said it would consider introducing motorcycle tolls
if bikes could be photographed from the front.
CELEBRITIES IN THE NEWS Daytona Harley-Davidson is crying foul against Los Angeles Lakers basketball
star Shaquille O'Neal, claiming he reneged on the purchase of a custom motorcycle. The dealership filed a breach of
contract suit recently in circuit court seeking at least $15,000 in damages against the Orlando-area resident. Because
the bike was built for someone of the 7-foot-1 Shaq's size, the Harley dealer claims it is stuck with a motorcycle it can't
sell. The Beach Street-based company claims in its suit that the Lakers star center, who started his NBA career with
the Orlando Magic, agreed to pay the company to build him a "custom motorcycle, with the design specifications requested
by
defendant being that the motorcycle be 'out there' and 'blow everything else away.'" The motorcycle was delivered to
O'Neal on Sept. 12, 2003, but he refused to pay for it, the suit claims.
AIMING FOR JUSTICE Justice was finally served to 26 bikers who had been ticketed during a "routine"
traffic stop for running a stop sign last October while on their way to the Concerned Bikers Association (CBA) Swap Meet in
Charlotte, N.C. All the ticketed bikers were represented by North Carolina Aid to Injured Motorcyclists (A.I.M.) Attorney
Robert A. Donat, who's courtroom strategy was to show that it is common practice for riders to do a "stop and go" when traveling
in large groups. The Assistant District Attorney was also informed that no one was going to plead guilty to the charges
and that each and every rider desired a trial (there were four different trial dates, as four different officers wrote tickets
that day). Furthermore, that this "routine" stop was nothing more than a harassing intelligence operation, and there was evidence
that the whole operation was pre-planned, including statements made by one of the ticketing officers, and the fact that a
DMV inspector appeared at the scene. Mr. Donat also found an eyewitness passerby who could confirm that there was a
person wearing a ski mask at the scene, and that the bikers were videotaped. The DA finally agreed that this was not
worth prosecuting, and every one of the charges was dropped.
Robert Donat ("RAD") serves as legal counsel for the Concerned
Bikers Association and the North Carolina Confederation of Motorcycle Clubs. "The N.C. COC is currently considering its options
now that the charges have been dismissed," said
Donat.
WEIRD NEWS OF THE MONTH: SADDAM'S MOTORCYCLE LOOTED The man who swung the first blow when Saddam Hussein's
infamous statue was toppled from the middle of Firdos Square in Baghdad has been arrested for looting the tyrant's motorcycle
from a museum. Armed with a sledgehammer, Khadom Sharif Hassan -- Iraq's weightlifting champion - started pounding away at
the statue last April, to cheers from the jubilant crowd and praise from President George W. Bush, who watched the action
unfold on the White House television. "They got it down," the president said approvingly.
But today the beefy hero
is languishing in jail, accused of looting Baghdad's National Army Museum of one of the former dictator's most treasured exhibits:
the 50-year-old black Norton motorcycle on which the young Saddam claimed he fled to Syria in 1959 after a botched American-sponsored
assassination attempt on Iraq's then prime minister, Gen Abd al-Karim Qasim, who a year earlier had overthrown the British-backed
monarchy to seize power. Though the plan failed, it sparked the Ba'ath party's rise to power. Mr. Hassan explained
that he felt he had a legitimate claim to the bike, which until the looting frenzy had stood on a pedestal in the museum,
but was later found in his workshop during a raid by Iraq's special crimes squad. As the chief motorbike mechanic for
Saddam's elder son Uday, Hassan had spent countless hours lavishing care on the Norton. What's more, he said, Uday used
to cherry-pick the best motorcycles that he imported into Iraq, paying him just a fraction of their value. Hassan, 50, who
is married with three children, said he had looked after more than 100 motorbikes belonging to Uday for 16 years, working
on them round the clock. "I would be
ordered to tune a bike at 3 a.m. if Uday decided after a night out that he wanted
to ride the next day," he said. "His favorite was a red Honda 750cc bike which he used for jumping because he was tall
and strong enough to drive a big bike." Uday preferred Japanese models to American Harley-Davidsons, Hassan said, but
also liked a BMW that was a present from King Abdullah of Jordan. When Uday was hospitalized from an accident, he ordered
scores of his motorbikes to be lined up outside his window so that he could admire them. Officials from the serious
crimes squad have described the case against Hassan as "open and shut," but from the special police headquarters in Baghdad,
he denies
stealing the bike. "I bought the Norton from a looter," he said. "I knew he had stolen it, but I
had a duty to take it and look after it. I love that bike. Of course, I hate Saddam, but what he did wasn't the
bike's fault. It is a special thing in Iraq's history."
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Gas Prices
Please read it and join with us!
By now you're probably thinking gasoline priced at about 69.9 cents a litre is super cheap. Me too! It is
currently 76.9 for regular unleaded in my town. Now that the oil companies and the OPEC nations have conditioned us to think
that the cost of a litre of gas is CHEAP at 69.9, we need to take aggressive action to teach them that BUYERS control the
marketplace, not sellers. With the price of gasoline going up more each day, we consumers need to take action.
The only way we are go ing to see the price of gas come down is if we hit someone in the pocketbook by not purchasing THEIR
gas!
And we can do that WITHOUT hurting ourselves. How? Since we all rely on our cars, we can't just
stop buying gas. But we CAN have an impact on gas prices if we all act together to force a price war.
Here's the idea:
For the rest of this year, DON'T purchase ANY gasoline from the two biggest companies (which
now are PETRO CANADA & SHELL). If they are not selling any gas, they will be inclined to reduce their prices.
If they reduce their prices, the other companies will have to follow suit. But to have an impact we need to reach
literally millions of Shell and Petro Canada gas buyers. It's really simple to do!!
PLEASE HOLD OUT UNTIL THEY LOWER THEIR PRICES AND KEEP THEM DOWN. THIS CAN REALLY WORK. YOU KNOW THEY LOVE
HOLIDAYS AND SUMMER TRAVELERS.
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