jun_2007

P A G E 12

p4SAM PublicRelations

p5Looking

Ahead

p9ScottishPoliceBikes

p10BookReview

p12Ladies Run

I N S I D E

MAKINGprogress

Registered Charity No.1097558

T h e I A M A i m sTo improve the standard of driving (and riding)on the UK roads.

The Advancement of Road Safety.

The Administration of an Advanced Test.

Help us make progress with a contribution towards the next issue. Pics in jpeg format please.Newsletter email address is [email protected]

SOLENT ADVANCEDM OTO R C Y C L I S T S

J u n e 0 7

samS A M S O L E N T A D V A N C E D M O T O R C Y C L I S T S J u n e 2 0 0 7

Answers via email to:[email protected]

CAPTION COMPETITION:

DISCLAIMERMost of the views expressed in this SAM Newsletter are personal to the author and publicationdoes not imply endorsement of any article, any author or any organisation. Views expressed arethose of the authors, and are not necessarily in accordance with the policies or the views of the

IAM or SAM. Where articles are reproduced from other publications or authors, unreservedacknowledgement is given to the source. No responsibility is accepted by the Editor or SAM forany damage to intelligence or riding abilities, howsoever caused, which might result from reading

this publication.

The Emerald Isle - abiker’s paradise report p11

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Saturday 5 May marks aspecial day in SAM history as itwas the first official Ladies ride,and guys, we don’t mind if youwant to have your own ride.

Seven ladies arrived in Wickham Squareto be lead by Hayley Miller.There were

3 green badge holders, 4 associates and for 3 of them, it was their first ever SAM ride.

Now who said ladies ride boring bikes? Hayley was leading the group on her R1,followed by a Honda Hornet, a Sprint ST, a Suzuki Intruder 1400, Kawasaki 500, therewas even a Burgham 400 Scooter and Lilian was back marker on her SV650 Sport.

We headed off at a nice pace and made our way along the A272. It was a lovely day,ideal for biking and Hayley did a fantastic job keeping the group together.We had anuneventful ride to our lunchtime spot apart from the black pick-up truck driver (thenew white van man) who seemed convinced that he could overtake 7 motorbikesand a van towing a large caravan in about 100 yds.

Unfortunately our lunch stop in the village of Findon didn’t go as planned when therestaurant announced no food because they were doing a wedding. So we stoppedfor a quick coffee and then a very quick visit to the Cissbury leather shop next door,and no we didn’t buy the shop! However one of the staff recommended the BlackHorse pub around the corner. Not cheap, but the portions are huge, so one meal caneasily be shared between two people.

Hayley then lead us off to Goodwood for the conclusion of our ride, where we tooktea on the outdoor patio watching the cars racing around and the planes andhelicopters taking off. It was a lovely end to the day and we even managed to findanother biker to take a photograph of all our bikes.

Lilian Hobbs

SAM LadiesRide-Out

bike june cov 07 5/6/07 9:42 pm Page 1

S A M S O L E N T A D V A N C E D M O T O R C Y C L I S T S J u n e 2 0 0 7S A M S O L E N T A D V A N C E D M O T O R C Y C L I S T S J u n e 2 0 0 7

P A G E 2 P A G E 11

SAM Polo-shirtsBlack long or short sleeve shirts embroideredwith the Club name - always available to buyat Club Nights. Sizes XXL to Small.Long Sleeves £18.50 Short Sleeves £15.00

Books and VideosThe Assessment of Advanced Motorcycling £4.50Know your Traffic Signs £3.00How to be an Advanced Motorcyclist £7.99Motorcycle Roadcraft (Blue Book) £11.99Mike Waites Video £14.99Top Rider Video £14.99

AGM number 14 held onTuesday 8th May 2007ELECTED COMMITTEEOfficers:Gerry Gooch ........................ChairmanColin Backhouse ..................Group SecretaryJohn Parvin ............................Treasurer

Members:Nigel Grace ..........................Newsletter editorDave Spicer ..........................Chief ObserverIan Cooper ............................Runs CoordinatorKate Davies ..........................MerchandiserDave Forster ........................PRSam Davis ..............................Club Night OrganiserDavid Barrett ........................ Special Events OrganiserChris Palmer ........................Skills CoordinatorGodwin Calafato

Financial statement as at 8th May 2007 - £1,158

Changes in CommitteeThis AGM saw the retirement of John Goodson, ChiefObserver, and Rex Brittain, Secretary, and with variouschanges of committee members during the year there is asignificant change in the officers and committee members.

Financial strategyAsked if there was a strategy for finance in the light of a lossof £409 this year over last year’s gain of a similar figure,

Godwin Calafato explained thatthere had been justifiedexpenditure over and above whatwill be spent in the next year,including expenses incurred for the50th anniversary celebrations,repairs to the MDU and thepurchase of a projector for trainingand club sessions. It was alsopointed out that the group is acharity and any financial assetsshould not be hoarded but spent onthe group’s objectives of improvingrider skills. Godwin concluded thatthe group was in a healthy financialposition.

Postal votesAnother question related the needto hold a postal vote for those notattending.The IAM constitution forgroup elections does not allow for apostal vote being held. The AGMwas properly convened and, despitethe less than usual turnout, wasquorate. One member also addedthat it was held on a usual club nightand was announced on the website.

Colin BackhouseGroup secretary

Two bikers arepulled up at a stop sign. Onelooks up and sees a funeralprocession starting by.

He pulls the bike to the side of theroad, gets off, stands by its side,takes off his helmet, and bows hishead. The procession passes bythe intersection and the biker putson his helmet, gets back on thebike, and starts it up.

The other biker comes over andsays, “That was touching. I didn’tknow you had it in you.”

The first biker responds, “Well, Iguess it was the right thing to do -after all, I was married to her for40 years.”

When I was young I used to pray for a

Harley.

Then I realised that God doesn’t work

that way.

So I stole a Harley and prayed for

forgiveness

May 2007 marked my fourth tripto the Emerald Isle. It’s a

bikers paradise, punctuated withbreathtaking scenery, wonderfulfood, delightful people and, ofcourse, the Guinness. The intentionof this article is not to providetravelogue but to offer some tipswhich should maximise safety andenjoyment for those intending tomake a similar trip.

When you talk about touringIreland, the first thing people say is“I hear the roads are terrible”. Myexperience is that the roads aremixed. Main roads between townsare generally better than our ruralroads both in terms of surface andopportunities to overtake (manyroads have tractor lanes).

Moving away from the main roads,the quality of surface can be muchmore variable. At the extremitiesaround the south-westernpeninsulas, the roads can be aschallenging as they get, bestdescribed as a pot-holed roller-coaster. But this is where some ofthe best and most challenging ridingis to be found.

My experience of Irish drivers isthat they are mostly courteous and“bike-aware”, frequently pullingover into the tractor lane for you topass. Unfortunately, it’s the Britsyou need to watch out for, hoggingthe centre line and sometimesdeliberately blocking your progress.

The next thing people say is that itrains all of the time. Well that’s notquite true but everything is verygreen and it does rain pretty often.In my experience, it has rained

about 25% of the time. If you go toIreland you just have to expect thisand plan accordingly, then it’s not anissue. In fact with this mindset everydry day is bonus.

Accommodation in Ireland

Irish B&Bs are excellent in myexperience. There is usually acorrelation between the price andquality of accommodation. I havetoured Ireland both with and withoutpre-booked accommodation. Onbalance, I would recommend pre-booking as it makes the afternoonsmuch more relaxed and enjoyable.Most B&Bs have a large hotpress(that’s Irish for airing cupboard). Thisis invaluable for getting your kit reallydry for the next day.

Planning for rainThe temperature on the West coastmay be a couple of degrees colderthan home, so take the same kit youwould normally wear. Rememberthat you are likely to be wearing yourwets quite often and these may causeyou to over heat!

• Fabric kit is most convenient

• If wearing leathers, make surethat your wets are really easy toget at as the weather can changein an instant

• Take at least two pairs of gloves -summer and waterproof

NavigatingAll speed limits and distances arenow in kilometres. There was a stagewhere distances were metric andspeeds were imperial - a gloriousIrish compromise - but this has nowbeen sorted. Until last Novemberonly the major roads featured on

digital maps, so your GPS waspretty useless

• Make sure that you have thelatest maps for your GPS orleave it at home

• 150 miles on twiddly little roadsrepresents a hard day’s riding

• plan for breaks to take onwater and top up on carbs

• garages can be sparse in the lesspopulaced areas

Bike preparations

No special preparations ar needed.No beam deflectors as they driveon the left. As you are likely to getwet, electrical issues couldpotentially be a problem

• Do the usual POWER checks(petrol, oil, water, electrics,rubber)

• Irish roads are harsh on tyres -make sure you leave with plentyof tread

• Take spare lamps, the bumpscan take their toll

• If you have an immobiliser, takethe code so that you can do areset

• Make sure that your luggage iswaterproof

• Check your insurance andrecovery policy

At the end of a hard day’s riding,you might want to consider jet-washing your bike. I did this oneday on my recent trip as the bikewas so dirty that the number platewas no longer readable!

Favourite parts of Ireland

If Ireland were a clock face, the 7o’clock to 9 o’clock area is simplythe best. You may be surprised thatI have not listed the Ring of Kerryamongst my recommendations.This is because it is full of coachesand there are currently lots of roadworks. If you do ride it, check the

direction of the coaches and go theopposite way. Here are myrecommendations, in no particularorder:

• Connorpass(nearDingle)

• Gap ofDunloe(in themiddleof the Ring of Kerry)

• Ring of Bera (three Michelinstars for this)

• Healy Pass

• the coastline betweenDungarvon and Bunmahon onthe Eastern side (approx 4o’clock)

Kenmare is probably my favouritetown; it’s not as commercialised asKillarney and there are excellentpubs, restaurants and live music tobe found there. It’s a good centrallocation for touring.

Which Ferry?

I have always taken the FishguardRosslaire Route with Stenna butwould consider Irish Ferries whogo from Pembroke to Rosslaire.This could shorten the UK leg by30 minutes or so.

If booking with Stenna, you can geta discount of 20% by quoting MCN.The return trip cost me £68 forbike and rider.

The fast ferry takes 90 minuteswhile the standard ferry will occupyyou for 3.5hours.

If getting an early ferry, I canrecommend the fishing village ofKilmore Quay for an overnightstopover; it’s 30 minutes fromRosslaire and there is a pub whichis frequented by the fishermen andknown locally for the best fish inthe area. The Guinness is good too.

The EmeraldIsle - a biker’sparadise by Mike West

Ride it twice - once for the view, then for the ride

Contact Kate Davies Tel 01962840954t: 023 8023 0002


P A G E 3

The summer is here, we are all out on our bikesin the sunshine and the rain.The committee are

busy organising the various activities for you themembers to benefit from and also to enjoy and asusual, most of the time it is like trying to get bloodout of a stone to get you to come forward to help.I have placed a number of announcements for help, sometimes getting noresponse whatsoever, the exception to this was the Springfield School talksas this was actually over subscribed with your offers to give a 55 minutetalk to 15.16 yr old pupils on ‘Life Skills and Biking’ and the School wasmost generous in their praise for the 6 speakers from SAM whoparticipated.SAM has a new Chief Observer David Spicer who will I am sure beimplementing some of his own ideas about Observed Runs etc, so I expectthat we Observers must all be prepared to accept a few minor changes inthe near future.PR is an important activity for SAM and we need to put more effort intogetting the message to Bikers in Hampshire about what SAM has to offer.David Forster our new PR Officer has made an impressive start by settingup databases of media and Dealer contacts throughout the County. Davidwill need your help in doing this, so do please respond to him when heasks.The new SAM website that has been set up by Simon Marsden hasreceived many commendations and nearly all of our new memberenquiries now come from the web.The SAM Announce system has I amsorry to say been another story in that the change over to a new systemhas been plagued with problems. With Simon’s help we are now hopefulthat the way ahead is now clear.Skills and Training are now the responsibility of Chris Palmer who isactually more used to training helicopter pilots than bikers, but Chris isworking on the SAM Sundays by organising the Free Assessed Rides andthe rider training talks at 12.00 hrs directly after the rides. Our Observersare very generously giving their time on the 1st Sunday of each month tosupport this initiative to attract members of the public to improve theirskills. In return for their efforts, SAM provides each Observer with a baconsandwich to help them on their way around the test route.We must all remember that SAM is actually a Road Safety Group andconsequently this should be the area of activity to which we put mosteffort. Our other Group activities are important, but they are reallyorganised to support our main aim of providing guidance to riders toimprove their riding skills.Our Special Events organiser David Barrett has a very full plate with someambitious events to organise during the summer months.Ian Cooper has continued to provide Group Runs on most Sundaysthrough the year. Unfortunately, Ian has had to take the brunt of theproblems that go with this particular job such as last minute cancellations,changes to destinations and of course the ever present problem of theGroup Runs being,‘Too Fast’,‘Too Slow’,‘Too Short’,‘Too many Riders’ etc.Ian will be doing his best to ensure that Group Runs do conform with ourSAM Guidelines.The fact is that 95% of the participants go home happy, soperhaps we must accept that you can’t please all of the people all of thetime.The AGM is over and almost forgotten, as it was by many members on thenight with a smaller than expected turnout. But that just left more food forthe rest of us to enjoy. Our Auditor Duncan Taylor and the SAM RegionalCo-ordinator Geoff Pretty congratulated the committee on the way thatthey had used the group funds during the past year.You will find the namesof your elected committee and Officers elsewhere in the Newsletter.I hope that you are all enjoying and appreciating what SAM is doing for you,but please give a little back, that is all that I am asking from each of you.Happy and safe riding to you all.

Gerry Gooch

CHAIRMAN’Schat

COMMITTEE MEMBERSChairman Gerry Gooch 01329 832 416

Vice Chairman Colin Backhouse 02380 871 642

Treasure John Parvin 01329 284 640

Chief Observer David Spicer 01794 341 087

Membership Secretary Paul Nol 02392 710 929

Special Events Co-ord Dave Barrett 0771 626772

Club Night Organiser Sam Davis 07961 534802

Public Relations David Forster 01962 761026

Group Rides Co-ordinator Ian Cooper 02380 410 690

Skills Development Chris Palmer 07919 418 641

Regalia Kate Davies 01962 840 954

Newsletter Nigel Grace 07810 480 476

Committee Member Godwin Calafato 02380 253109

MDU Manager Vacant

HiI am in a bit of a dilemma - I want to

produce a Club Newsletter but I have very little Club

information to print, the idea of a Newsletter is self

evident and that is to bring you the news about the

Group! Having said that; how do I get “The News”

about SAM? and the answer should be from the

Members of the Group and by me attending the Club

Nights, SAM Training Days, the Ride-Outs, the

Committee Meetings, the Regional Conferences, and

the AGMs and so on. So I have completed my part of

the deal; so what about you, the Membership!

There is the 20/80 rule of course, but whereas

Vilfredo Pareto created it with finance in mind (i.e

20% of the people owning 80% of the wealth), it can

and has been applied to virtually anything. For

example 20% of the membership support the Group

and 80% don’t, 20% of the membership turned up the

AGM and 80% didn’t - that’s right - the score on the

night was Committee 12, Membership 30, Visitors 2,

Absent 204, and therefore from any point of view it

was a pretty poor turn out.

So to continue with the original question: how to

produce a Newsletter without any “Club News”,

similarly how to put interesting ‘stuff’ about the Club

on the SAM web site without it becoming a one-man-

show with one person’s view; and of course you know

the answer - YOU need to get involved, to write

something, to send in a photo or two, and in order to

do this you need to get involved with the Club, to

attend the Club Nights, and the Group-rides. We’ve got

enthusiastic committee members, planning exciting

events and sharing knowledge, give them the support

they need, after all ... it’s your Club. Editor

S A M S O L E N T A D V A N C E D M O T O R C Y C L I S T S J U N E 2 0 0 7

bike b_w june 07 5/6/07 10:30 pm Page 2

S A M S O L E N T A D V A N C E D M O T O R C Y C L I S T S J u n e 2 0 0 7

P A G E 4

At the time of writing, I haveheld the post of ChiefObserver for exactly twoweeks, and so far theworkload has been non-stop.And that’s good. What itmeans is, this Club is veryactive and we have a steadysupply of new Associatesjoining, each of whom havemade the worthwhile decisionto improve their riding skills.So congratulations to all thenew, and existing, Associates. Iknow how frustrating it can beat times, but believe me, theday it all suddenly clicks intoplace will be a delight, and youwill know you’re well and trulyon the road to biking bliss.

C H I E F O B S E RV E R ’ SR E P O RT M ay 0 7

When it became commonknowledge that I had volunteeredto become Chief Observer, manyasked me, “Why?” I probablyblustered something about JohnGoodson deserving a rest fromthe post after five years, but thetruth is something slightly moreselfish.You see, I have a passion formotorcycling, but I also have anequally strong passion for roadsafety.

Sadly, I believe that for years wehave been let down by a speedcentric Road Safety Policy whichfavours legislation rather thaneducation. There is strongevidence that driving standardsare falling and road deaths are notfollowing the historic trend andthe steady reduction in fatalitieshas levelled off. So now, more thanever, it’s up to us to do somethingabout it.

Motorcycling can still offertremendous pleasures but wemust all do our utmost to make itas safe as possible.And joining theIAM is a jolly good place to start.So, how better to satisfy mypassions than to volunteer for thisposition within SAM?

I must take this opportunity tothank John Goodson for beingsuch a hard act to follow. John hashad, and deserved, enormousrespect from everyone withinSAM, and he has always led byexample. He is a trusted colleagueand friend and it’s going to be soweird swapping roles.

One further thing I must add is mythanks and praise to all my fellowObservers. It would be prettystupid being a Chief without theseguys.

David Spicer

SAM PUBLICRELATIONS (PR)As the newly appointed Public Relations Officer for SAM, I thought I would put pen to paper just to give you a bit of background andto tell you how I see the role of PR within our Group.

the MDU Manager or indeedalmost any member of yourCommittee or any one of you. Theidea is that the PR Officer acts asthe facilitator and the subjectmatter expert appears in the framewith the media.

This represents quite an ambitiousundertaking and it is not going tohappen overnight - sorry about thatGerry! Indeed it could generatesome embarrassing moments - liveshows are always the riskiest and

Ihave been a SAM member for about three years, priorto which I had been both Observer and Assessor with

the Southampton Advanced Motorists. I sometimes feela bit guilty for switching my allegiance, but the motoristsdon’t have weekly “Drive-Outs”, or trips to France, orbacon butties on the first Sunday in the month: so thefeeling doesn’t last!

In PR terms, I have some experience from within aGovernment department, but it’s totally irrelevant toSAM PR. The comparison is probably best and mostsimply summed up by stating that the main aim of SAMPR is ensuring that all the bikers in our catchment areaknow SAM exists, know what SAM is, and know whatSAM does. You will therefore not necessarily see muchof my efforts within the programme activities, but I hopeyou’ll see the results through the steady flow ofpotential new members “testing the temperature of thewater”. I say potential new members, because once theyhave been tempted in, it is entirely up to the rest of the

membership to see that the welcome they receiveensures that they sign up.

I do have a team of trusty pamphleteers, that deliversour colourful glossy flyer to what I hope is the majorityif not all the motorcycle dealers as well as a number ofgarages and outlets near to and at biker venues. It’snearly time for top up activity, in fact some outlets havealready run out of leaflets, so I’ll be contacting the teamsoon to arrange another delivery run - greatopportunity to ride out!

Elsewhere, I’m building up a database of media contacts:press, magazines, local radio and television, so thatinformation on SAM activities can reach a wideraudience. Such contacts are the foundation of effectivePR and the springboard for more specific involvement ofthe media with SAM activities. This is where I step asideand the activity organiser steps in. This could be theSpecial Events Coordinator, the Club Night Organiser,

... as a famousHollywood figure oncesaid: “There ain’t nosuch thing as bad

publicity!”.

we don’t have dress rehearsals forour events. But on the other hand,as a famous Hollywood figure oncesaid: “There ain’t no such thing asbad publicity!”.

Do I have any specific news oncurrent activity? Well I suppose Ido. By the time most of you readthis Lois will have been and gone,but only just!. At the time ofwriting, I have personally invited 5names to be our guests at thisevent (two of them quite big namesin the motorcycling and motoringworld) and at the time of writing, all5 have regretfully declined! Am Idiscouraged? Too bloody right I am,but I won’t let it show and I’ll keepmy disappointment to myself.

By the way, did I tell you how I cameto be SAM PR Officer? It came topass shortly after I offered to helpdeliver SAM flyers to dealers in theWinchester area. I felt no pain andwoke up on the Committee!

David Forster


P A G E 5

S A M S O L E N T A D V A N C E D M O T O R C Y C L I S T S J U N E 2 0 0 7

Looking AHEADBy Andy Ibbot

Do you have days when no matter what you do yourriding isn’t clicking? You’re on your favourite stretch ofroad, you know it well but by the end of the ride you’refrustrated rather than on a high. It happens to us all andI have been suffering from this feeling for the pastcouple of weeks.

To try and cure this I got a daydown at the ultra fast, ultra

bumpy Castle Combe circuit inWiltshire but an afternoon of ridingonly made my frustration worse. Iwas getting on the throttle early, Iwas turning the bike quickly but stillmy lines were inconsistant and mylap times slow. The harder I triedthe worse it got.

On the road a week later I wasrunning wide on the exit ofroundabouts and corners because Iwas stalled on the throttle mid turn.I knew all the things that were goingwrong but I couldn’t figure out why.Then, a few days ago on a BrandsHatch race practice day it came tome in a flash. Eyes. Or to be moreprecise, vision.

All the problems in my riding werebecause I wasn’t getting theinformation I needed until it wastoo late. I needed to look furtherahead.

It sounds so damned simple doesn’tit? But it’s so easy to forget. Yourbody is designed so you can run ata maximum of roughly 15 miles perhour. At this speed you can look infront of you and avoid just aboutany hazard without too manyproblems. Your brain and survivalreactions are working in harmony.So what happens when you triple orquadruple the speed? Let’s make iteven more difficult and add somelean angle, and a throttle, andbrakes. It’s a modern miracle thatwe can get around a corner at all!When we get overwhelmed orfrustrated with our riding our visiongoes back to its ‘safe’ 15mph. Thismeans we are looking about 20 feetin front of the bike and riding toreaction rather than planning ahead.

This creates even more problemsand it’s a vicious circle. The morewe stall on the gas the worse theline gets, the more we run wide, the

more tense we get, the more ourvision pulls in, the more we stall onthe gas etc... Try this littleexperiment if you don’t ‘see’ what Imean. Run along a kerb. Run as fastas you can. Run looking ahead ofyou, as far as you can see. It’s very,very easy isn’t it? Repeat the drill.Now, at some point during yourrun, look two feet in front of you.What happens? Did runningsuddenly become harder? Did youfeel like you had sped up? Did youfeel a little sick and disorientated?Did you run off the kerb or find itharder to keep on the kerb. Nowtry that at 50mph. Get the idea?

Once I realised what I was, orrather wasn’t, doing my ridingINSTANTLY took a turn (sic) forthe better. Even on this horriblewet day at Brands my linestightened up. My throttle controlimproved. I went faster although itfelt a lot slower and the grin behindmy crash helmet got bigger andbigger. It was wet and I was lovingit. I would have stayed out all day ifI had the chance because I wasenjoying my riding all over again. Itwas like someone had waved amagic wand, the only thing was, Iknew the trick already but hadforgotten its wonder.

I have included a couple of picturesagain this month.Take a good lookat them.

The front shot shows a riderlooking well ahead of himself and asa result he will be fast and smooth.He can plan ahead. He knowsexactly when he will be on the gas.He knows exactly where he will beon the track. He knows where toturn, brake and exit just for lookingahead.

The rear shot shows three riders allat a different point in the samecorner. The rider at the back islooking ahead of the furthest rider

in front.The second rider is lookingabout 20 feet in front at the riderahead of him, while the last rider islooking a little further down thetrack but still not as far as he couldor should. Who will be the fasteston the exit?

Pick your head up, look furtherahead and you will be amazed howthis simple technique will improveyour riding on the road and thetrack. Enjoy!

The London Unity Ride19th August 2007The Unity Ride is to be a majorLondon charitable event for bikers,the beneficiaries of which will beBBCs ‘Children in Need’ and Capitalradio’s ‘Help a London Child’.

The Unity Riders will pass through thecapital visiting all the key landmarks,guided by the Metropolitian police BikeSafeteam and trained Unity Support Riders.We encourage all Londoners to join us in thisevent and share in the pleasure and excitementof motorcycling.

http://www.unity2.unityride.co.uk/


P A G E 6

S A M S O L E N T A D VA N C E D M OTO R C Y C L I S T S J u n e 2 0 0 7

The following was just a short exercise into the prices of tyres. Gerry supplied most ofthe figures for the FJR and then I phoned around for the rest. The interesting point for me was that I didn’t knowthat BT020s came in so many different viarients - hence the “E” - and more money of course. Does anyone knowthe difference between “E” and “non-E” BT020s - besides the price?

BMW R1150RT YAMAHA FJR 1300ABridgestone BT020 “E” Bridgestone BT020

£ incl VAT (ride in-ride out) £ incl VAT (ride in-ride out)Front and Rear Front and Rear

M Cox Motorcycles - Eastleigh £198.00 £170.0002380 618823

Michaeldever Tyres £218.59 £216.2401962 774437

Pro Tyres Hilsea £232.90 £190.0002392 694741

Pro Tyres Fareham £237.05 £178.5201329 220743

One other interesting point is that not only is the cost difference between E and non-E tyres but the diffencebetween dealers for the same tyres.

i.e I saved £39 by going to M Cox and Gerry saved £46 by using the same dealer.

Pedestrian Crossings and StrangeLegal Language by Ben Laurie

I realised recently that I didn’t fullyunderstand the zig-zag lines aroundpedestrian crossings. In particular, I wasn’tsure whether you could overtake on thezig-zags after you’d crossed the crossing.The answer is that you can, but figuring itout has been interesting.I’ve always understood the zig-zags to mean “don’t overtakethe lead vehicle”, which they do, but if that’s all they’re for,why do they appear on both sides of the crossing? It doesn’ttake a huge amount of research to discover that they alsomean “no parking”, which I knew but had kinda forgottenabout. But if they also control overtaking, what on earthdoes this mean once you’ve passed the crossing? TheHighway Code is actually crap on this, it says:

You MUST NOT overtake the moving vehicle nearest thecrossing or the vehicle nearest the crossing which hasstopped to give way to pedestrians

Like several other parts of the Highway Code, this isfantastically poorly drafted. Clearly the vehicle nearest thecrossing could be beyond it, which would make it legal toovertake the lead vehicle approaching the crossing!

Luckily, the Act itself (The Zebra, Pelican and PuffinPedestrian Crossings Regulations 1997) is a little clearer:

24. - (1) Whilst any motor vehicle (in this regulation called“the approaching vehicle”) or any part of it is within thelimits of a controlled area and is proceeding towards thecrossing, the driver of the vehicle shall not cause it or anypart of it -

(a) to pass ahead of the foremost part of any other motorvehicle proceeding in the same direction; or(b) to pass

ahead of the foremost part of a vehicle which isstationary for the purpose of complying withregulation 23, 25 or 26.

OK, so at least we know it only applies to before thecrossing. But hang on, what’s this “any other motorvehicle” thing? The Highway Code (and myunderstanding) say only the lead vehicle! Fortunately...

(2) In paragraph (1) -

(a) the reference to a motor vehicle in sub-paragraph(a) is, in a case where more than one motor vehicle isproceeding in the same direction as the approachingvehicle in a controlled area, a reference to the motorvehicle nearest to the crossing; and(b) the reference toa stationary vehicle is, in a case where more than onevehicle is stationary in a controlled area for thepurpose of complying with regulation 23, 25 or 26, areference to the stationary vehicle nearest thecrossing.

Tyres - TheBasic FactsTyres are sized according to diameter

and what’s known as aspect ratio.Diameter is simple; if you’ve got a 17-inchwheel, it requires a 17-inch tyre. Aspectratio is the relationship between thewidth and the height of the sidewalls. Saythe tyre is sized at 160/70, it means thatthe sidewalls are 70% of the width of thetyre. The width is 160mm, so thesidewalls are 112mm high. Tyres forsports bikes typically have a low aspectratio, some as low as 50%, ie a 190/50.This gives less sidewall movement andeffectively makes for a tyre that deflectsvery little, or keeps its shape under highcornering forces.

As well as the obvious, like diameter, tyresmust also match the width of the wheelrim. Tyre sizes are matched to rim sizesfor optimum profile, that is the shape thetyre takes when fitted to that rim. Ifyou’ve heard people talking aboutpreferring the behaviour of a smaller tyre(like a 180/55) compared to a 190/50, it’sbecause of its profile on, say, a 6-inch rim.The smaller tyre assumes a rounder crosssection, offering better turn-in and abigger contact patch while leant over.

There will always be an optimumrecommended tyre for any given rim, andfitting a bigger tyre because you reckonyou’ll have more rubber on the road canoften mean a trade-off in handling, sounless it’s highly recommended fitmentthat improves the handling androadholding, don’t do it.

The next things to look at arecompounds. A compound is the blend ofrubber used for the tread. A softcompound will generally offer more grip,but wear faster than a hard compound.Some tyres are now made with dualcompound using a harder band in thecentre, where acceleration forces canquickly wear a tyre out, and a softercompound for the edges where the tyrespends less of its time and where a softercompound offers more grip when thebike is banked over.

Then there are speed ratings. If a tyre ismarked 170/60 ZR17, it’s 1 17-inch rim,ZR-rated for speeds up to 150mph. A130/70 H17 is H-rated for speeds up to130mph,V or VB, are for up to 149mph, Sfor up to 112mph, and there are others -lots of others. In fact the more you getinto the wonderful world of tyres, themore there is to learn. That’s why tyrespecialists exist, but that’s no reason toignore what those expensive black hoopsare all about.

Motocycle News - September 2002


P A G E 7


PC nonsense,sexualdiscriminationand otherdaftness

You may have heard that thelatest draft of the Highway

Code is supposed to be removingthe word accident and substitutingit with the word collision, crash orincident. This has been described

SEPT Sun 2 SAM Free Assessment Rides/Training Day Sarisbury Green 9.30amSat 8 International AutoJumble BeaulieuSun 9 SAM Group Ride Ower

International AutoJumble BeaulieuTue 11 SAM Club Night Sarisbury Green 7.30pm for 8pm startSat 15 BMF Tail End Show PeterboroughSun 16 SAM Group Ride Meon Hut Mark Sabin

BMF Tail End Show PeterboroughTue 18 SAM Committee Meeting Sarisbury Green 7.30pmSun 23 SAM Group Ride WinchesterSun 30 SAM Group Ride Wickham

OCT Sun 7 SAM Free Assessment Rides/Training Day Sarisbury Green 9.30amTue 9 SAM Club Night Sarisbury Green 7.30pm for 8pm startSun 14 SAM Group Ride Meon Hut Dave CharltonTue 16 SAM Committee Meeting Sarisbury Green 7.30pmSun 21 SAM Group Ride Winchester Nigel GraceSun 28 SAM Group Ride Wickham

NOV Thu 1 1 - 11 Nov - Motorcycle and Scooter Show NEC BirminghamSun 4 SAM Group Ride OwerSun 11 SAM Group Ride Meon HutTue 13 SAM Club Night Sarisbury Green 7.30pm for 8pm startSun 18 SAM Group Ride WinchesterTue 20 SAM Committee Meeting Sarisbury Green 7.30pmSun 25 SAM Group Ride Wickham

DEC Sat 1 SAM Observers Meeting Sarisbury Green 10.00 amSun 2 SAM Group Ride OwerSun 9 SAM Group Ride Meon HutTue 11 SAM Club Night Sarisbury Green 7.30pm for 8pm startSun 16 SAM Group Ride WinchesterSun 23 SAM Group Ride WickhamSun 30 SAM Group Ride Ower

JAN Sun 6 SAM Group Ride Meon Hut

JUNE Tue 12 SAM Club Night Sarisbury Green 7.30pm for 8pm start with Lois Pryce Talk and slide show about her recent ride across Africa

Sun 17 SAM Group Ride to the Ogri Café Horam Wickham Paul NolTue 19 SAM Committee Meeting Sarisbury Green 7.30pmThu 21 Continental Trip to Bouillon in the Belgian ArdennesFri 22 Continental Trip to Bouillon in the Belgian ArdennesSat 23 Motorcycle World Beaulieu

Continental Trip to Bouillon in the Belgian ArdennesSun 24 SAM Group Ride Ower

Motorcycle World BeaulieuContinental Trip to Bouillon in the Belgian Ardennes

Mon 25 Continental Trip to Bouillon in the Belgian ArdennesTue 26 Tuesday Evening Group Ride - Winchester & Fareham 7.30pm

JULY Sun 1 SAM Free Assessment Rides/Training Day Sarisbury Green 9.30amSun 8 SAM Group Ride Winchester Colin HitchcockTue 10 SAM Club Night Sarisbury Green 7.30pm for 8pm startSun 15 SAM Group Ride OwerSun 15 Big Wheel Charity Event BasingstokeTue 17 SAM Committee Meeting Sarisbury Green 7.30pmSun 22 SAM Group Ride (Arundal) Meon Hut Petra WilloughbyTue 24 Tuesday Evening Group Ride - Winchester & Fareham 7.30pmSun 29 SAM Group Ride to Castle Coombe Circuit Winchester

(Early Start) Nigel Grace

AUG Sat 4 SAM Observers Meeting Sarisbury Green 10.00 amSun 5 SAM Free Assessment Rides/Training Day Sarisbury Green 9.30amSun 12 SAM Group Ride OwerTue 14 SAM Club Night Sarisbury Green 7.30pm for 8pm startSun 19 SAM Group Ride Meon Hut Gerry Gooch

Sun 19 The Unity Ride London http://www.unity2.unityride.co.uk/Tue 21 SAM Committee Meeting Sarisbury Green 7.30pm

Sun 26 SAM Group Ride WinchesterTue 28 Tuesday Evening Group Ride - Winchester & Fareham 7.30pm

SAM DIARY OF EVENTS FOR 2007

and their favourite recipes.

On the principle that sauce for thegoose is sauce for the gander, howabout a boys only run? This couldhave both merit and appeal. Thelads would be free to commentfulsomely on the excellent fit of thelady pillion’s leathers, there wouldbe few constraints on vocabularyand political correctness could besuspended entirely. Just as with theladies-only run, a good time wouldno doubt be had by all. It’ssounding more and moreappealing.

The point of this column is that we,as a society, are sometimes tooquick to apply labels - particularlyin the pc and discrimination area.There can be no better example ofthis than the pickle Big Brother gotinto. The discrimination label wasdaftly applied because people didnot think about what was reallygoing on. That Big Brother episodewas undignified and deplorable, butit was actually bullying rather thandiscrimination.

So what does all this have to dowith biking? Well I don’t reallyknow to be honest, but I do feel anawful lot better for SAM having sogenerously allowed me thisopportunity to be grumpy.

The Grumpy Old Biker.

Disclaimer: Grumpy Old Biker is aperiodic column written for the SAMnewsletter. It is highly unlikely that theviews expressed here are in any wayrepresentative of the IAM or SAM.

by some commentators as “anotherexample of political correctnessgone mad”, but is it? At first Ithought that this was the case, buton reflection I now find myselfagreeing with the proposed change.

The word “accident” impliessomething unavoidable, somethingexcusable or something which justhappens. Collision is a much betterword which assigns an element ofresponsibility, accountability andperhaps even a lack of skill. It’s agood call in my view.

Moving from political correctnessto sexual discrimination, I wasinitially troubled by the “ladies only”run recently organised by SAM.This is without doubt a clearexample of sexual discrimination asmen are excluded. But so what?It’s pragmatic as it provides anopportunity for the ladies todevelop their riding skills in atestosterone-free environment. Iguess that it also provides anopportunity for them to goshopping, talk about flower arranging



P A G E 8

It was at breakfast the next morning when we both hadone of those awful fits of laughter where the very act oftrying to suppress the laugh only seems to fuel it.

WELSH WEEKENDDay 3 THE RETURN HOME

sadness that we went to pack ourbags and bid farewell.

I must just add that Terry’s partingshot was to insist we stopped off atthe bus station car park in town,where, on Sundays, there is anenormous gathering of bikes. Hisdescription of the shear volume ofbikes grew from hundreds tothousands until his final offering was“It’s the biggest gathering of bikersin Europe!”

Naturally, this event was not to bemissed, but it must have been tooearly when we pulled in because wecould only count about twenty-five.We didn’t stop.

We left Abergavenny bound forHereford on the A465. I know thisis a bit of a cheat because,technically, we were enteringEngland for a while, but the roadengineers had seen fit not to stopthe resurfacing halfway along, andthe wonderful road conditionsdidn’t falter.

From Hereford it was the A49down to Ross on Wye, and this iswhere we made a mistake. Weshould have taken the A4138towards Monmouth (enteringWales again), but somehow endedup on the A40 to the samedestination.

Never wishing to disappoint, thisdual carriageway was like travellingthrough the Swiss Alps, and so, a

Terry did all the cooking andMrs Terry had just departed to

the kitchen to bring back our fullcooked breakfast. Now, Nige is notthat keen on cooked tomatoes andalso quite likes his eggs scrambledand he started to speculate onwhat might happen if he had askedher for something different fromthe set meal.

We had this vision of a veryworried Mrs Terry scampering offto the kitchen, a moment’s silence,and then Terry bursting through thedoor. His face bright red, a veinthrobbing in his forehead and ameat cleaver held high in one hand.

“HE SAID WHAT?” He would yell.

And so we built on this image untiltears rolled down our cheeks.Verychildish.

I know I’ve used Terry as ahumorous backbone to thisaccount of our weekend in Wales,but believe me, none of this is anexaggeration. In fact I could havereported many more equallybizarre incidences with him, but thisis supposed to be about a bikingtrip.Also, believe me when I say thatI wouldn’t hesitate for a second inrecommending his establishment asan excellent base for touring,especially if you look back onFawlty Towers with fond memories.

And so it was with a twinge of

little sooner than anticipated, weentered Monmouth and stopped fora rest.

We parked up and Nige went off tobuy us some refreshment while Ipeople-watched. He returnedproudly sporting cans of drink andalso a Mars Bar each. As he handedmine over with a beaming smile,which said “Haven’t I done well?” Isaid “I don’t like Mars Bars”.

I mention this because I still feelimmensely guilty, and if Nige everreads this - “Sorry”.

My wickedness was compoundedwhen we later stopped in CheddarGorge and I had an ice cream, whichwas a double caramel chocolatysickly creamy thing not a millionmiles away from eating Mars Bars ona stick (if slightly colder).

Our next destination was Tinternfor lunch.

We picked up the A466, whichsteadfastly sticks to the river Wye asit winds its way through the valley,and is another not-to-be-missedexperience.At one point along here,we came up behind a few bikerswho appeared to have no more ideahow to ride a bike than fly to themoon. Of course, by our standards,we now felt like riding Gods andsoon passed and left themfloundering about in our dust.

I was leading as we entered Tinternand started looking for a place tostop along side the river, but all theparking places were taken.

“Carry on up to the Abbey. I’m surewe can park there,” said Nige.

Just then we rounded a bend andsuddenly the most amazingapparition, silhouetted against theblue sky and distant trees,dominated the whole view. Itstowering stonework a rich deepoak-brown colour, matured by thepassage of time.

“What’s this Abbey look like, Nige?”

“Don’t know. Maybe they’ll havesome signs”

And so, Laurel and Hardy pulled intothe car park and took a leisurelystroll over to the convenientlyplaced café, which boasted a veryattractive outdoor seating area.Bikers of every descriptionoccupied the majority of benches.

We dumped our gear on a vacantbench and wandered inside, wherewe decided on a pot of tea for twoand a couple of pasties, which weasked the girl on the till to warm up.

She came round our side of thecounter and put both pasties in acommercial looking microwaveoven.

Now, God had seen fit to bless theyoung lady with a magnificentbosom, which she held, barelyrestrained, behind a low-cut t-shirtand our attention was slightlydistracted when she casuallyannounced “You’ll know whenthey’re ready coz a bell will ring andthey will pop out!”

We fell out the door and eruptedinto fits of giggling like a couple ofadolescent schoolboys. What awonderful way to let you knowwhen your pasty is cooked!!!!

Back on the bikes and unknown tous at the time, the road from Tinterndown to Chepstow was the lastreally excellent ride we were toexperience that weekend.

The M48 Severn crossing wasclosed and we were diverted backdown onto the M4. Our route thendemanded an anticlockwisecircumnavigation of Bristol and ajourney across the CliftonSuspension Bridge. Approaching thebridge, the road was closed and wewere diverted in towards Bristol,where any further information wasnonexistent. In an act ofdesperation, we pulled into a verylarge park area to try and gatherour bearings.

Before long, we noticed a veryhappy looking lad approaching,grinning from ear to ear, andobviously keen to help, which he

The Carvery at Tintern


P A G E 9


did. We were very close to thebridge as it turned out. As wethanked our shinning knight, heeagerly told us he was about to takehis direct access bike test. See,fellow biker and the renownedcamaraderie was, once again,evident.

Sadly, it was a rubbish ride down toCheddar with awful roads andheavy traffic.

We stopped in the hot sunshine andI ate the afore mentioned ice creamunder the glare from Nigel. Fromhere, we rang our respective wivesto announce our imminent return,only to be told the weather athome was very poor.

Gloating in our good fortune withthe sunshine, we left Cheddar and

Scottishpoliceforceshavetaken anumber of motorcycles out ofservice after the death of anofficer in a crash in England.

Merseyside Police motorcyclist David Shreeve was crushed under a lorryafter falling from his Honda ST 1300A. The bike was the same model

used by three Scottish forces. An inquest into Constable Shreeve’s death in2005 found he crashed after his bike began shaking violently as he reachedabout 110mph.

The inquest in April heard that the problem, known as high speed weave, onlyaffects the police version of the motorcycles as they are fitted with extra kitwhich affects the centre of gravity.

Coroner Dr James Adeley said that since the death, several of the ST 1300Ashad undergone safety checks. In one test an examiner broke a leg andfractured both wrists after experiencing similar problems.

On Friday, the Association of Chief Police Officers (Acpo) recommended thatthey should be withdrawn from use. Meredydd Hughes, Chief Constable ofSouth Yorkshire Police and head of the Acpo uniformed operations businessarea, said:“Detailed testing was carried out on a sample of motorcycles froma number of forces.

“Following this testing, aspects of the maintenance and set-up of themotorcycle were considered, and as an interim measure, precautionaryguidance was issued to all forces, limiting the speed and use to whichthese motorcycles should be put. “Individual chief constables used theseguidelines to determine the approach they would take, given the highlevel of confidence in the motorcycle expressed by a number of officers.”

RISK ASSESSMENT

Strathclyde Police have withdrawn their 31 bikes from operational use untila risk assessment has been carried out. They insisted it was purely aprecaution and steps have been taken to make up the shortfall. Aspokeswoman said: “Following a recommendation from Acpo, we havetemporarily withdrawn the ST 1300 motorcycles from operational use untila risk assessment has been carried out. “This is purely a precautionarymeasure which has been taken in the interest of officer and public safety.”Central Scotland Police have taken their three bikes off the road, whileLothian and Borders have already modified their 10 bikes to stop themreaching more than 100mph.

A Honda spokesman said: “Following the recent inquest into the death ofDavid Shreeve, the coroner recommended that the Honda ST1300 shouldnot be used in excess of 80mph.

“Ten days ago, Honda met with the ACPO working group to discuss this,and it was jointly agreed that the bike should be withdrawn from serviceimmediately in the interests of safety, pending further investigation andtests.”

then immediately hit the rain, whichpersisted on and off, all the wayhome.

And so we rode south in virtualsilence, each with his own thoughtsand memories. With each mile, wemoved inextricably further andfurther away from our bikingheaven, hardly seeing a nationalspeed limit and having to avoidpotholes and debris.

Eventually, just outside Salisbury westopped in a pub car park, beforeparting company. Nige to return toWimborne and me to Romsey.

Two figures stood in the drizzle,shaking hands, and thanked eachother for a truly brilliant weekend.

David Spicer

Guest House at Tintern

Useful Web SitesBikers Yard

www.bikersyard.co.uk

Bike Safe Edge 44

www.hants.gov.uk/roadsafety/driverider/edge44.html

BMFwww.bmf.co.uk

BMWswww.boxerbikes.co.uk

BMW Dealers www.cwmotorcycles.co.uk

BMW Parts Catalogue www.ascycles.com

Girls Bike 2 www.girlsbike2.com

IAMwww.iam.org.uk

JAP Bike Parts www.ronnies.com/micro.htm

Lois on the Loose www.loisontheloose.com

Marmion Motorcycles www.marmionmotorcycles.net

Motorcycling Jeans www.hoodjeans.co.uk

Motorcycle World www.beaulieumotorcycleworld.co.uk

NEC Motorcycle Show www.motorcycleshow.co.uk

Rapid Training www.rapidtraining.com

RAM Mounts www.telferizer.co.uk

SAM Photo-site www.solentadvanced.photosite.com

SAM Web Site www.solent-advanced-motorcylists.co.uk

The Highway Code www.highwaycode.gov.uk

The Stage Post www.stageposthotel.co.uk

3X Motorcycles www.threecrossretail.co.uk/

Ultraseal Southampton www.ultraseal-soton.co.uk

Urban-Glow www.urban-glow.com

Unity Run London www.unity2.unityride.co.uk/

PubsFleming Arms, Swaything, Southampton 02380 584358

Rose and Crown, Longburton Sherborne Dorset 01963 210202

Stage Post, High Street,West Lavington, Devizes 01380 813392

Barley Mow,Walderton, Nr Chichester 023 9263 1321

Let me know of any that you think could be included

[email protected]


P A G E 10


Avoiding the taste ofT-BONEThe last thing any biker wants to hear is that awful phrase:“Sorry mate, I didn’t see you”. ‘SMIDSY’ crashes happendespite the bike and rider being in clear view.

So how to avoid it? Some steps are obvious: for starters, give yourself room to stop beforethat ‘it’s OK, I’m going through’ decision.

You and your bike are easily ‘lost’ inthe visual clutter on an urban street,behind one of the ever-thickening A-pillars of modern cars, or even a lamppost. Don’t rely on your headlight,fluorescent jacket or whatever toguarantee you get seen.So look for stationary wheels,indicators and the direction of thewheels, - all good clues as to whichway a vehicle is about to emergefrom a junction. Look for faces andeye contact with the driver. You get acreepy feeling sometimes that youhaven’t been seen - trust it; it can bea life-saver!Ride where car drivers look. Theyare looking for other car drivers, sodon’t hug the kerb. Sit right out inthe lane, at the angle they are going tolook. Try to think about things froma car driver’s viewpoint, and then putyourself where it’s impossible forthem to miss seeing you.Don’t let your vision drop down, anddon’t seem less confident even if youfeel it. Drivers are more likely toclaim ‘your’ space if you do that. ADriver is more likely to think there istime to nip out ahead on anapproaching bike if it is timidly riddenclose to the kerb.Wet conditions can also makestopping more interesting, soapproach the junction in the sameposition, be aware you need moreroom or less speed to deal with adriver pulling out. A lot of this isabout ‘having a presence’.Car drivers also struggle with visionwhen their side windows are wet. It’sthe nearest most of them will everget to looking through a wet visor!So approaching junctions, you wantsigns that the car, van or lorry hasseen you and is staying put. If youdon’t get them, start planning for theemerging blockage. Or braceyourself for that well-known phrase“Sorry mate...... “

Peter Rodger,Chief Examiner of the IAM

Other links are:http://www.smidsy.org.uk/http://smidsy.co.uk/

As Advanced Riders we know someimportant things that help us to keep safeon the road. We know that safety is thehighest priority whenever we are riding.And we know too that safe riding is mainlyin our thinking skills - the decisions wemake, well before our hands and feet getthe chance to execute them.

And it’s from exactly this premise that StephenHaley has written his book.

“When the thinking is right, the right actions willfollow.”

These are complex and subtle self-taught mentalprocesses that we use unconsciously - we lookfor danger, recognise it and actively control it.“Mind Driving” points out that there is noalternative because the driver is the only person‘on the spot’ and in control of the danger.

Driving is the most dangerous thing that mostpeople do. This book explains how drivers candramatically reduce the risk. Expert drivers use alot more than conventional driving skills. Thekey is not just in what they do but, crucially, how

they think. This has always been the most vitalpart of safe driving, but no one has found a wayto explain the mental processes involved. “MindDriving” explains how expert drivers think.Revealed for the first time are: what really causesdanger on the road, how to control the danger,how to make life-saving decisions, and how toenjoy driving and do it safely at the same time.

We are used to telling ourselves that weunderstand how to be safe on the roads, that weunderstand how road safety works and that weare good riders. We have to. If we didn’t believe,the risks of riding would be too big tocontemplate. But “Mind Driving” elevatesunderstanding of these issues to a new plane.You’ll be amazed at what you didn’t know.

I cannot recommend this book highly enough.It’s well written and plainly understandable. Itcontains so many new ideas that there is bound tobe something of value to everyone. It is theperfect compliment to Motorcycle Roadcraft. Weall need this book.

David Spicer

BookREVIEW

Suzie Perry withNeil Stocker(left) and GerryGooch’s XT500(right) at the“Road Trip2007” she hostedat Beaulieu, inpartnership withUK Youth, theUK’s largest youthwork charity. Seemore pics andarticle on the webSite.


S A M S O L E N T A D V A N C E D M O T O R C Y C L I S T S J u n e 2 0 0 7S A M S O L E N T A D V A N C E D M O T O R C Y C L I S T S J u n e 2 0 0 7

P A G E 2 P A G E 11

SAM Polo-shirtsBlack long or short sleeve shirts embroideredwith the Club name - always available to buyat Club Nights. Sizes XXL to Small.Long Sleeves £18.50 Short Sleeves £15.00

Books and VideosThe Assessment of Advanced Motorcycling £4.50Know your Traffic Signs £3.00How to be an Advanced Motorcyclist £7.99Motorcycle Roadcraft (Blue Book) £11.99Mike Waites Video £14.99Top Rider Video £14.99

AGM number 14 held onTuesday 8th May 2007ELECTED COMMITTEEOfficers:Gerry Gooch ........................ChairmanColin Backhouse ..................Group SecretaryJohn Parvin ............................Treasurer

Members:Nigel Grace ..........................Newsletter editorDave Spicer ..........................Chief ObserverIan Cooper ............................Runs CoordinatorKate Davies ..........................MerchandiserDave Forster ........................PRSam Davis ..............................Club Night OrganiserDavid Barrett ........................ Special Events OrganiserChris Palmer ........................Skills CoordinatorGodwin Calafato

Financial statement as at 8th May 2007 - £1,158

Changes in CommitteeThis AGM saw the retirement of John Goodson, ChiefObserver, and Rex Brittain, Secretary, and with variouschanges of committee members during the year there is asignificant change in the officers and committee members.

Financial strategyAsked if there was a strategy for finance in the light of a lossof £409 this year over last year’s gain of a similar figure,

Godwin Calafato explained thatthere had been justifiedexpenditure over and above whatwill be spent in the next year,including expenses incurred for the50th anniversary celebrations,repairs to the MDU and thepurchase of a projector for trainingand club sessions. It was alsopointed out that the group is acharity and any financial assetsshould not be hoarded but spent onthe group’s objectives of improvingrider skills. Godwin concluded thatthe group was in a healthy financialposition.

Postal votesAnother question related the needto hold a postal vote for those notattending.The IAM constitution forgroup elections does not allow for apostal vote being held. The AGMwas properly convened and, despitethe less than usual turnout, wasquorate. One member also addedthat it was held on a usual club nightand was announced on the website.

Colin BackhouseGroup secretary

Two bikers arepulled up at a stop sign. Onelooks up and sees a funeralprocession starting by.

He pulls the bike to the side of theroad, gets off, stands by its side,takes off his helmet, and bows hishead. The procession passes bythe intersection and the biker putson his helmet, gets back on thebike, and starts it up.

The other biker comes over andsays, “That was touching. I didn’tknow you had it in you.”

The first biker responds, “Well, Iguess it was the right thing to do -after all, I was married to her for40 years.”

When I was young I used to pray for a

Harley.

Then I realised that God doesn’t work

that way.

So I stole a Harley and prayed for

forgiveness

May 2007 marked my fourth tripto the Emerald Isle. It’s a

bikers paradise, punctuated withbreathtaking scenery, wonderfulfood, delightful people and, ofcourse, the Guinness. The intentionof this article is not to providetravelogue but to offer some tipswhich should maximise safety andenjoyment for those intending tomake a similar trip.

When you talk about touringIreland, the first thing people say is“I hear the roads are terrible”. Myexperience is that the roads aremixed. Main roads between townsare generally better than our ruralroads both in terms of surface andopportunities to overtake (manyroads have tractor lanes).

Moving away from the main roads,the quality of surface can be muchmore variable. At the extremitiesaround the south-westernpeninsulas, the roads can be aschallenging as they get, bestdescribed as a pot-holed roller-coaster. But this is where some ofthe best and most challenging ridingis to be found.

My experience of Irish drivers isthat they are mostly courteous and“bike-aware”, frequently pullingover into the tractor lane for you topass. Unfortunately, it’s the Britsyou need to watch out for, hoggingthe centre line and sometimesdeliberately blocking your progress.

The next thing people say is that itrains all of the time. Well that’s notquite true but everything is verygreen and it does rain pretty often.In my experience, it has rained

about 25% of the time. If you go toIreland you just have to expect thisand plan accordingly, then it’s not anissue. In fact with this mindset everydry day is bonus.

Accommodation in Ireland

Irish B&Bs are excellent in myexperience. There is usually acorrelation between the price andquality of accommodation. I havetoured Ireland both with and withoutpre-booked accommodation. Onbalance, I would recommend pre-booking as it makes the afternoonsmuch more relaxed and enjoyable.Most B&Bs have a large hotpress(that’s Irish for airing cupboard). Thisis invaluable for getting your kit reallydry for the next day.

Planning for rainThe temperature on the West coastmay be a couple of degrees colderthan home, so take the same kit youwould normally wear. Rememberthat you are likely to be wearing yourwets quite often and these may causeyou to over heat!

• Fabric kit is most convenient

• If wearing leathers, make surethat your wets are really easy toget at as the weather can changein an instant

• Take at least two pairs of gloves -summer and waterproof

NavigatingAll speed limits and distances arenow in kilometres. There was a stagewhere distances were metric andspeeds were imperial - a gloriousIrish compromise - but this has nowbeen sorted. Until last Novemberonly the major roads featured on

digital maps, so your GPS waspretty useless

• Make sure that you have thelatest maps for your GPS orleave it at home

• 150 miles on twiddly little roadsrepresents a hard day’s riding

• plan for breaks to take onwater and top up on carbs

• garages can be sparse in the lesspopulaced areas

Bike preparations

No special preparations ar needed.No beam deflectors as they driveon the left. As you are likely to getwet, electrical issues couldpotentially be a problem

• Do the usual POWER checks(petrol, oil, water, electrics,rubber)

• Irish roads are harsh on tyres -make sure you leave with plentyof tread

• Take spare lamps, the bumpscan take their toll

• If you have an immobiliser, takethe code so that you can do areset

• Make sure that your luggage iswaterproof

• Check your insurance andrecovery policy

At the end of a hard day’s riding,you might want to consider jet-washing your bike. I did this oneday on my recent trip as the bikewas so dirty that the number platewas no longer readable!

Favourite parts of Ireland

If Ireland were a clock face, the 7o’clock to 9 o’clock area is simplythe best. You may be surprised thatI have not listed the Ring of Kerryamongst my recommendations.This is because it is full of coachesand there are currently lots of roadworks. If you do ride it, check the

direction of the coaches and go theopposite way. Here are myrecommendations, in no particularorder:

• Connorpass(nearDingle)

• Gap ofDunloe(in themiddleof the Ring of Kerry)

• Ring of Bera (three Michelinstars for this)

• Healy Pass

• the coastline betweenDungarvon and Bunmahon onthe Eastern side (approx 4o’clock)

Kenmare is probably my favouritetown; it’s not as commercialised asKillarney and there are excellentpubs, restaurants and live music tobe found there. It’s a good centrallocation for touring.

Which Ferry?

I have always taken the FishguardRosslaire Route with Stenna butwould consider Irish Ferries whogo from Pembroke to Rosslaire.This could shorten the UK leg by30 minutes or so.

If booking with Stenna, you can geta discount of 20% by quoting MCN.The return trip cost me £68 forbike and rider.

The fast ferry takes 90 minuteswhile the standard ferry will occupyyou for 3.5hours.

If getting an early ferry, I canrecommend the fishing village ofKilmore Quay for an overnightstopover; it’s 30 minutes fromRosslaire and there is a pub whichis frequented by the fishermen andknown locally for the best fish inthe area. The Guinness is good too.

The EmeraldIsle - a biker’sparadise by Mike West

Ride it twice - once for the view, then for the ride

Contact Kate Davies Tel 01962840954t: 023 8023 0002


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p10BookReview

p12Ladies Run

I N S I D E

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T h e I A M A i m sTo improve the standard of driving (and riding)on the UK roads.

The Advancement of Road Safety.

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DISCLAIMERMost of the views expressed in this SAM Newsletter are personal to the author and publicationdoes not imply endorsement of any article, any author or any organisation. Views expressed arethose of the authors, and are not necessarily in accordance with the policies or the views of the

IAM or SAM. Where articles are reproduced from other publications or authors, unreservedacknowledgement is given to the source. No responsibility is accepted by the Editor or SAM forany damage to intelligence or riding abilities, howsoever caused, which might result from reading

this publication.

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5% discount to SAM members, on production of membership card.

Saturday 5 May marks aspecial day in SAM history as itwas the first official Ladies ride,and guys, we don’t mind if youwant to have your own ride.

Seven ladies arrived in Wickham Squareto be lead by Hayley Miller.There were

3 green badge holders, 4 associates and for 3 of them, it was their first ever SAM ride.

Now who said ladies ride boring bikes? Hayley was leading the group on her R1,followed by a Honda Hornet, a Sprint ST, a Suzuki Intruder 1400, Kawasaki 500, therewas even a Burgham 400 Scooter and Lilian was back marker on her SV650 Sport.

We headed off at a nice pace and made our way along the A272. It was a lovely day,ideal for biking and Hayley did a fantastic job keeping the group together.We had anuneventful ride to our lunchtime spot apart from the black pick-up truck driver (thenew white van man) who seemed convinced that he could overtake 7 motorbikesand a van towing a large caravan in about 100 yds.

Unfortunately our lunch stop in the village of Findon didn’t go as planned when therestaurant announced no food because they were doing a wedding. So we stoppedfor a quick coffee and then a very quick visit to the Cissbury leather shop next door,and no we didn’t buy the shop! However one of the staff recommended the BlackHorse pub around the corner. Not cheap, but the portions are huge, so one meal caneasily be shared between two people.

Hayley then lead us off to Goodwood for the conclusion of our ride, where we tooktea on the outdoor patio watching the cars racing around and the planes andhelicopters taking off. It was a lovely end to the day and we even managed to findanother biker to take a photograph of all our bikes.

Lilian Hobbs

SAM LadiesRide-Out


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