These clever Bar Cuffs not only make it easy to tie down your motorcycle for transport, but are also guaranteed not to scratch your chromed or powder-coated handlebars.
The multi-patented Bar Cuffs cost $US49.95 (about $A75 plus postage) and are made of stainless steel so they won’t rust like many tie-down hooks.
They feature rubber inserts to prevent scratching and slipping and save you the hassle of putting something soft between the nylon straps or hooks and the bars.
Bar Cuffs
Adam Ewles says his invention will support up to 900kg of strain, so they should be suitable for all sized scooters and motorcycles.
Dirt bike
Scooter
They are also able to be locked in case you are storing your bike on a trailer overnight.
Bar Cuffs come in a pack of two with extra inserts in different sizes to accommodate various sized bar diameters.
You can also clamp then right over the bar grips and the eyelets will self tighten.
Note that you will still need nylon straps to tie down the rear of the bike.
A 22-year-old male rider has died after a collision with a truck on an M4 highway off-ramp in Sydney’s west this morning.
Police say the rider was travelling east on the M4 highway when his motorcycle collided with a truck at the Church Street off ramp about 8.20am (Tuesday 30 July 2019).
“Paramedics arrived at the location and treated the motorcyclist before he was taken by ambulance to Westmead Hospital in a critical condition,” police say.
The rider died soon after.
Our sincere condolences to his family and friends.
Driver tested
The truck was towed for examination and the driver was taken for mandatory blood and urine testing.
There are no details yet on the tests.
However, the Cumberland Police Area Command has established a crime scene and an investigation into the crash has begun.
Police urged the public to exercise extreme care when using the Church Street off-ramp exit due to “heavy traffic conditions”.
After the incident, eastbound traffic on the highway was static for up to 11km.
Anyone with information about this incident is urged to contact Crime Stoppers: 1800 333 000 or https://nsw.crimestoppers.com.au. Information is treated in strict confidence. The public is reminded not to report crime via NSW Police social media pages.
Safety message
It is still not yet known what caused the crash and we do not assume any blame.
Riders should always exercise extreme caution when riding around trucks, especially in heavy traffic.
Trucks have a lot of blind spots and motorcycles can easily disappear from their view.
A motorcyclist out for a Sunday ride on his favourite local mountain road has died in a crash.
The 34-year-old male rider from Middle Park was enjoying a Sunday ride on Mt Glorious (pictured above) Brisbane’s favourite motorcycling road, at 8.27am today when he “lost control and struck a tree”, police say.
The incident happened on Mt Glorious Road, about one kilometre west of the township.
Emergency services responded to the incident and pronounced the man dead at the scene.
“Passing motorists stopped and rendered assistance and first aid until the arrival of police and emergency services,” police say.
Emergency treatment was provided, however the man was pronounced deceased at the scene.
Police delayed releasing information until the rider’s family had been contacted.
Our sincere condolences to his family and friends.
If you have information for police, contact Policelink on 131 444 or provide information using the online form 24hrs per day.
You can report information about crime anonymously to Crime Stoppers, a registered charity and community volunteer organisation, by calling 1800 333 000 or via crimestoppersqld.com.au 24hrs per day.
A 50-year-old male rider has died in a head-on collision with a ute on the Rosewood-Marburg Rd at Tallegalla, west of Ipswich, about 4.15pm yesterday (18 July 2019).
Police say the Pine Mountain rider sustained critical injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene.
The 62-year-old male driver of the ute was not seriously injured.
The Forensic Crash Unit is investigating.
If you have information for police, contact Policelink on 131 444 or provide information using the online form 24hrs per day.
You can report information about crime anonymously to Crime Stoppers, a registered charity and community volunteer organisation, by calling 1800 333 000 or via crimestoppersqld.com.au 24hrs per day.
Quote this reference number: QP1901381969
The rider was pronounced deceased at the scene.
Our sincere condolences to his family and friends.
A 34-year-old male motorcycle rider has died in a crash with a truck that appears to have been turning across his path.
The accident happened about 2.15pm yesterday (7 June 2019) in Garfield Road East, Riverstone, in Sydney’s north-west.
Police have been told the motorcycle was travelling east along Garfield Road East when it collided with a Hino truck which was believed to be turning right on to Edmund Street.
The top photo shows the view the truck driver would have before turning right into Edmund St.
The rider was treated by NSW Ambulance paramedics but died at the scene.
The male driver of the truck was uninjured.
Officers from Quakers Hill Police Area Command established a crime scene and commenced an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the crash.
A report will be prepared for the information of the Coroner.
Any charges arising from the incident are not expected until the Coroner concludes their report.
Our sincere condolences to the rider’s family and friends.
Common crashes
Most accidents involving motorcycles and other vehicles occur when the other vehicle is turning across their path.
The result can be lethal as the rider hits the vehicle in a t-bone fashion, rather than a glancing blow.
There are a number of scenarios of turning-vehicle crashes where the rider is completely blameless and others where they are at partial or complete fault.
But in the end, it doesn’t matter whose fault it is if the rider is dead.
These are the four most common crash situations where the other motorist is turning, often without looking for motorcycles:
Oncoming driver turns across the rider’s path to enter a property or side street;
Vehicle pulls out of a side street into the path of the motorcycle;
Motorist pulls over to perform a u-turn without looking; and
A vehicle in front suddenly turns without indicating just as a rider is overtaking them.
Look for these signs
We all know drivers don’t look for motorcyclists for a variety of reasons.
If an approaching vehicle has its indicators on, assume they may turn without giving way to you and look for movement of the wheels and the driver’s head turning;
Be suspicious of all vehicles coming out of side streets (left or right) and again check their wheels and the driver’s head to see if they have seen you;
Treat any vehicle that pulls over as a possible u-turn or at least that they will suddenly open their door and step out in front of you; and
If the vehicle in front suddenly slows, don’t take the opportunity to pass them. Be cautious that they could be about to make a turn, even if they haven’t indicated.
How to avoid SMIDSY crashes
In all the above four situations, slow down and be prepared to take some sort of evasive action, looking for a possible escape route.
If the driver is on a side street or oncoming, try to make eye contact with them.
Make yourself seen by moving in your lane.
You can also alert drivers to your presence by blowing your horn or flashing your lights, although these may be illegal in some jurisdictions and could give the false message that you are letting them cross your path.
Don’t trust loud pipes to save you. Most drivers have their windows up, air-conditioning on and the radio turned up loud, so they may not hear you, anyway.
Besides, in all these situations, your pipes are facing away from the driver.
You don’t need to be a motorcycle mechanic to fix your bike. Here is how to do basic motorcycle repair.
You’re great at burning up the rubber. Your wheelies are the stuff of legend. But when it comes to the simplest repairs to your bike, you’re first in line for a motorcycle mechanic.
It’s time to put the brakes on costly fixes and try a little DIY. Here’s how to perform some of the basics that’ll have you speeding off into the sunset without burning a hole in your wallet.
Changing the Oil
Always buy a motorcycle specific oil. In most bikes, the engine oil acts as a transmission fluid as well. Normal car oils won’t cut it.
The oil filter may need to be changed too. It could be a cartridge-style type located behind a bolted-on cover. It could also be a screw-on type. A normal wrench will be enough for the job. This should be one of your must-have tools.
Once you’ve changed everything over, you can check the oil level. There is usually a small porthole on the side of the crankcase. Just be sure the level is between the lines and you’ll be all set.
Maintaining the Drive Chain
Just as you’d invest in one of the best car jack stands for home repair, so you’ll make your life a lot easier with a rear stand for your bike. It’ll help you to keep the rear wheel off the ground, and the whole bike upright.
This is going to make chain maintenance much easier. Your chain needs to be kept at the correct tension. It will stretch over time and you’ll have to adjust it at that point.
Loosen the rear axle nut and then use the adjustment nuts to take out some of the slack. Always turn the nuts on either side evenly so that you don’t affect the wheel alignment. Clean the chain regularly and always keep it well lubricated.
The Tires
The slightest differences in tire pressure can adversely affect the way your bike performs. Checking the pressure should be something you do religiously.
The grooves of your tires have small raised points known as wear indicators. When these are worn down, it’s time to invest in new tires. The rear tire is likely to wear out more quickly than the front tire.
You’ll be able to reach the brake levers and the bleeder screw at the same time. The front and rear brake systems are independent of each other.
This means there are two different master cylinders to top off. One will be located on the handlebars, and the other on the side of the bike, below the seat.
Who Needs to Pay for a Motorcycle Mechanic?
Once you’ve mastered some of the basics, you’ll gain confidence and start learning how to fix more complex issues. Pretty soon you could become your own motorcycle mechanic.
That’s all going to be particularly useful if you’re planning to travel. Check here for some of the coolest bike rides around the world.
A 52-year-old motorcyclist has died after a passing motorist found him lying near his crashed bike on the Nottingham Road Bridge yesterday afternoon (3.25pm 24 April 2019).
NSW Police say it is unknown how long the man had been lying on the road.
He was attended at the scene near Wee Jasper, NSW, by Ambulance Paramedics but sadly died a short time later.
Our condolences to his family and friends.
Police are investigating and have asked anyone with information or dash cam footage to contact Crime Stoppers or phone 1800 333 000.
Information is treated in strict confidence. The public is reminded not to report crime via NSW Police social media pages.
Police media releases and statements that claim these as single-vehicle accidents before any investigation is concluded raises the spectre that the riders were at fault.
Such assertions should not be made until investigations are completed. Other vehicles, cyclists, pedestrians or a stray animal could have caused the crashes.
In this rural incident, stray livestock or a kangaroo could be at fault. The Wee Jasper area can be plagued with kangaroos.
Claiming that such incidents are single-vehicle crashes can confirm in the minds of the public that riders have a death wish and do not deserve their respect and consideration.
These are dangerous assertions that jeopardise the safety of all riders.
Crash stats
In fact, the statistics show that more motorcycle fatalities are in multi-vehicle crashes.
“I think there is a view that riders are more likely to be at fault in accidents involving motorcycles and that speed is the common factor,” Steve says.
“We see this in single-vehicle accidents involving a motorcycle, where the rider is automatically deemed to be at fault.
“This ignores factors such as road condition, line markings, recent roadworks, lack of signage.”
BMW Motorrad appears to be going ahead with a production version of the Concept 9cento that converts from a solo sports bike to a two-up tourer with luggage in a matter of seconds using strong magnets.
The clue is in these design drawings filed with property offices in Germany and Brazil.
It is difficult to tell from the drawings whether the bike has the same two-in-one features of the Concept 9cento, pronounced ‘nove cento’, which means 900 in Italian.
It’s also a little less aggressive than the concept model.
But it’s still an interesting model that we suspect will have the new 850cc parallel twin engine.
The mid-sized sports tourer concept launched this time last year featured magnetic clip-on luggage that also extends the seat from solo to dual.
9cento Concept
9cento Concept
The drawings don’t show any luggage features.
BMW’s popular R nineT was their first bike developed with a solo-to-dual-seat conversion, but it uses mechanical latches.
Rather than fiddly mechanical attachments, the 9cento uses a powerful electromagnet that easily attaches the luggage to the lower section of the rear carrier.
Heaven forbid the magnet loses current and drops your luggage and pillion on the ground!
The BMW Motorrad Concept 9cento to be revealed at the 2018 Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este.
9cento details
The German manufacturer unveiled the 9cento at the 2018 Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este at Lake Como in Italy.
BMW has still not released any tech specs.
Other highlights are a lightweight carbon fibre triangular frame, aluminium panels, long travel suspension and two symmetrical LED headlights and twin LED taillights that feature the BMW Motorrad motif.
BMW Motorrad Head of Design Edgar Heinrich says the bike brings together sports, adventure and touring as an allrounder.
“It doesn’t always have to be about ‘bolder, bigger, brighter’ nowadays: this concept bike focuses on achieving a sense of balance,” he says.
The BMW Motorrad Concept 9cento to be revealed at the 2018 Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este.
3D printed protectors
When BMW Motorrad unveiled the 9cento, they also showed leather and Kevlar jackets in similar design which is another indication of a production model looming.
They feature shoulder protectors integrated into the jacket using 3D printing.
Over 15 months, Heather travelled 42,000km through 19 countries.
The book is still on the Amazon best-seller list and includes an endorsement from Ted Simon author of Jupiter’s Travels which inspired Charley Boorman and Ewan McGregor and Cheryl Strayed author of Wild.
Second book
Her second book, Timeless On The Silk Road: An Odyssey From London to Hanoi, is an extension of the African tour on the same Yamaha dirt bike.
After her African trek, Heather was diagnosed with HIV in London at the age of 30 and given five years to live. It was 1995 when death from AIDS is inevitable.
Instead of giving up, Heather rides along the fabled Silk Roads of antiquity to Australia, thinking it would be her last adventure.
From Chapter 15: A Moment of Madness, Uzbekistan to Tajikistan, while Heather was travelling with three Frenchmen from Uzbekistan to Kazakhstan.
Together, the four of us walked into the Tajik border post, a small tin shack where it was standing room only. In the cramped confines, the heat was oppressive; none of the Frenchmen wore deodorant. A middle-aged man in a sweat-stained grey military uniform, the buttons straining across his round belly, sat behind the desk. Two other younger men in the same grey fatigues stood beside him. The only other item of furniture was a tall wooden cabinet. Behind the official was an open window, which framed a spindly tree. A small bird sat on a branch tilting its head inquisitively.
‘Passeports,’ he demanded, the sweat beading on his brow framed by a stock of thick greasy black hair.
‘You no cross. Pay one hundred dollar!’ he boomed.
‘We are transiting to Kyrgyzstan,’ Fabrice replied while Patrick and Frédéric vocalised their objection in French with a few phaws.
An evil smirk spread across the guard’s face that dropped as a series of folded bristly jowls onto his collar. ‘You pay. No cross.’
Fabrice stood his ground. Hands on hips. ‘We have permission to transit. We have a Russian visa.’ As if anything to do with Russia was still held in high esteem in this backwater of the former Soviet Union.
I kicked his foot and leaned close to whisper: ‘We must pretend we don’t understand.’
At this point, a vehicle pulled up outside in a cloud of dust. The Tajik border official and his two off-siders pushed Fabrice aside as they headed towards the door. We filed out behind them. The vehicle was a four-wheel drive with UNHCR emblazoned across its side. A huge man unfolded from the vehicle. He stretched to well over six foot and was enormous both in height and body width. Not obese, but his sheer size demanded instant respect. Proclaiming his support for refugees, he wore a black T-shirt printed with the words in white, ‘Einstein was a refugee’.
‘Where you from?’ he asked. We pointed to our motorcycles parked opposite saying France and Australia. ‘Long journey,’ he said nodding to me when I said I’d ridden through Africa. ‘I was in Rwanda. Very bad what happened there,’ he added and told us he was from Bosnia and stationed at Osh in Kyrgyzstan.
Since Soviet independence, Tajikistan had been gripped by civil war from infighting amongst its various clan groups, but foreigners were allowed to transit the stretch between Bekobod and Kulundu, a distance of about fifty kilometres. But we were not at this ‘official crossing’ for foreigners. Instead, we’d ridden over a narrow bridge to cross the Syr Darya and across a semi-arid plain; it was as if a finger of the Karakum desert had followed me all the way from Turkmenistan. I’d read that nearly 50,000 Tajik villagers had died from the fighting between the clan groups, leaving more than half a million refugees. Russia had stepped in, and around 25,000 of its troops were stationed in Tajikistan, effectively making it a Russian protectorate. This peacekeeping force also made it safe to transit into Kyrgyzstan as long as we kept away from the Afghan border where there were still skirmishes between the faction groups.
It made little sense as to why Stalin, back in the 1920s, had so unreasonably carved up the borders where three Central Asian nations met: Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. I could only assume it was to ensure the countries remained linked like the entwined fingers of lovers so they would forever retain a close and loyal bond.
‘Is there problem?’ the UN official asked the Tajik border guards.
‘Nyet. Nyet problem,’ the man in charge replied meekly.
‘It’s alright guys. You can cross.’ The Bosnian climbed back into his vehicle and with a wave, was gone just as suddenly as he had appeared. We all watched speechless as the vehicle disappeared in a trail of dust.
‘You pay,’ the lead official boomed from behind us. Then the three officials marched back to the tin shack. We followed.
‘Can you stamp our passports please,’ I asked in demure politeness pointing to our passports stacked on the desk.
‘No. You must pay five dollar.’
‘Okay,’ I said. At least the Bosnian’s arrival had saved us each US$95. The Frenchmen nodded, and we filed out of the hut to retrieve the money from our money belts so their prying eyes would not see our booty, especially Frédéric. He had told me he carried US$5000 in cash strapped to his belly. Fabrice and Patrick, I imagined, carried the same. ‘Aren’t you worried you’ll get robbed?’ I asked in disbelief when he’d told me. ‘This never leaves me,’ Frédéric had said patting his round stomach, his money belt hidden under his T-shirt with it all held in place by a wide kidney belt. It not only protected his kidneys and vulnerable insides should he crash, but also gave no indication that he carried a small fortune in a country where the annual salary was US$600.
Knowing you are going to die does strange things to your way of thinking, namely in the risks that you’d otherwise never consider taking. In the weeks that followed my HIV diagnosis, I rode around London with no regard for speed limits, road rules and consideration of other road users. Perhaps those vodka-infused days in Turkmenistan where I’d nearly come to grief several times while riding inebriated were also part of this disregard for my own safety. This wasn’t a conscious decision. It was just what happened. I was beyond thinking I might get hurt or I might die. What happened next at that Tajik border post, I can only think, had something to do with this unconscious death wish that occasionally took control of my behaviour.
But it was also a desire to seek approval, seek forgiveness from my father. The offer of a gift that would please him. A parting gift that was so significant that it may even go so far as to nullify the perceived shame I’d brought on my family. These were my distorted thoughts on that day.
When I’d walked into the hut, a grey Russian army cap lay on the desk. I’d picked it up, saying, ‘I give you ten dollar.’ The official sitting at the desk snatched it from me and threw it behind the cabinet. When he’d gone outside as the UN vehicle pulled up, I’d quickly retrieved it and stuffed it under my kidney belt and zipped up my jacket.
We paid our five dollars and with our passports stamped, were about to file out the hut, when the border official in charge pulled out his revolver and pointed it at Fabrice’s head. I held my breath thinking he’d thought Fabrice had stolen the cap. Patrick and Frédéric stood motionless beside me. Fabrice turned white. The two other guards smiled as if they shared a private joke. The Tajik with the gun flashed a demented grin, his finger on the trigger. Then he turned and fired the gun through the open window at a small bird sitting on the branch. It looked like the same bird as before. Unbelievably, it did not fly away. Like us, I expect, it was too shocked to move. The Tajik fired off another four shots, deafening us all in the tin shack, and still, the bird did not move. Only when it was quiet, and the Tajik had returned the gun to its holster, did the bird fly away. Without a word, we slowly filed out of the hut then ran towards our bikes.
Just as I was about to hoist my leg over the TT, the Tajik in charge stormed out of the hut, pointing to his head, his two assistants closely behind. I knew exactly what he meant, but the Frenchmen looked at him dumbfounded. I rushed back inside the hut, the Tajiks following close behind, but I reached the doorway first and knelt down near the cabinet and pulled the cap from under my kidney belt dropping it on the floor. The Tajik in charge grabbed my arm lifting me off the ground and shoved me against the wall.
‘Your cap. There it is. Remember, you threw it behind the cabinet.’
‘Duzd, Duzd,’ he repeated his face contorted in anger as he squeezed my arm. I assumed this was Tajik for thief.
‘Fuck off, you bastards!’ I screamed pulling my arm away and pushing past the three men like a deranged woman. ‘Go! Go!’ I yelled at the Frenchmen who sat astride their idling motorcycles.
The TT fired first kick. Pumped with adrenalin, I dropped the clutch and opened the throttle. The bike launched itself and me to freedom leaving the three Tajiks standing in a cloud of dust. I fully expected a bullet to lodge into my back, but no shot was fired, and yet again I’d escaped a respectable death. As I followed the Frenchmen, I realised I risked pulling them down with me. For their own safety, it was time I moved on.
The coming wave of electric bikes and scooters will create an overlap with bicycles that will put more pressure on cyclists to have ID plates or devices, a transport expert says.
Since publishing that article, the debate on our website and social media has been prolific. Click here for the full story.
Overlaps
Marcus says there are going to be “more and more overlaps (in speed capability) between bicycles and powered two-wheelers and hybrids such as ebikes and electric scooters”.
Even Harley-Davidson has announced a range of electric mountain bikes (photo at the top of the page) and scooters in the next few years.
Harley electric scooter
“We need to deal with the blurring boundaries between different vehicles,” Marcus says.
“So the real question is not about approving of bicycle ID, it is when will we treat all vehicles and road users consistently?
“This is now a real issue.”
Marcus says he often sees bicycles exceed the speed limit in Albert St, East Melbourne, and asks why they should escape traffic offence notices.
Bike ID
He also pointed out that his words in a 2002 VicRoads paper are even more relevant now with the blurring of vehicle categories between bicycles and ebikes.
Marcus Wigan
Here is a slice of that text:
Vehicle identification is valuable for a range of official and personal purposes: registration, theft recovery and speed enforcement are the major ones. A range of alternatives to conventional rear number plates are considered, with special reference to bicycles and motorcycles. Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), Infrared Identification (IRID) barcodes and combinations of Geographical Positioning System (GPS)and GSM mobile telephone chips (GPS/GSM) approaches are considered and discussed. While it is still premature to move to automated remote identification systems, barcodes and short range RFID systems alone or in combination offer genuine advantages for vulnerable road users, especially for theft protection, and to the Police for identity verification. Trials of the latter hybrid methods in combination are suggested, and careful consideration of the trust and surveillance aspects of potentially continuous tracking system be undertaken, and the developments widely consulted overbefore progress can be made on the deployment of widespread automated remote identification. However short range RFID tags deployed to verify vehicle identity for theft and other purposes may prove to me an effective first step towards automated remote identification systems.
