We all know that excessive speed, and also riding at a speed that is inappropriate for the conditions or our skill level, is a major contributing factor in many motorcycle crashes. But what about travelling below the speed of the surrounding traffic - is that dangerous too? Can you put yourself at risk by travelling too slowly?

Well, the short answer is a very definite “yes”.

Now before I get too far into this let me make two things very clear….
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Honda Australia has announced that they will be restructuring the management of their various high profile events and as a result, will cease operations of the Honda Riders Club of Australia (HRCA) effective immediately.

All events to take place from this point on will be branded under the corporate Honda banner.
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Official figures for motorcycle sales in Australia during 2009 have been released by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) and show a decrease of 13.6% in overall sales. Whilst this may be alarming to many, Australia has actually fared much better than most of the world, with sales in the US down a staggering 44% to September last year and Japan reporting that demand in some sectors has been reduced by as much as 55%.
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Since the arrival of the RSV4 Factory in Australia last September, much has been written about Aprilia’s first V-four powered superbike.

But with the RSV4R model due in dealerships in a matter of weeks we thought we’d get up to speed and have a look at the bike that has launched Aprilia into a new era, and into contention in the World Superbike Championship.
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The latest casualties show that people just seem to “lose control” of their cars - amazing isn’t it, normal people just driving along and suddenly have no control of their cars.

When are we going to look at one of the main causes - OIL. Nearly every car older that a few years old leaks oil, it rains a little and you have a recipe for disaster.
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I found this written up as a letter to the editor in our local paper (The Gold Coast Sun) from an ex cop about ‘accidents’ and driver training. Even though it doesn’t specifically mention motorcycles I think the same principles apply and I felt it was worth running it here ……

“ONCE again we witnessed the horrific death toll on our roads over the Christmas period.

As an ex-traffic police officer I ask myself ‘when are the politicians and bureaucrats going to realise that all their band-aid treatments have been a total failure?’
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Ok, what’s the go with Hyundai’s and me? Seriously, do I have “Hyundai magnet” written all over my helmet or something?

Last year I was nearly run over in a servo by a woman who backed up her Hyundai without looking and today I was almost cleaned up in a corner on a country road by a young guy who must have thought he was practicing for Bathurst - in a Hyundai Excel for God’s sake!

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Many riders have adequate skill when it comes to jumping on a motorcycle and turning the throttle. The difficulty comes when they are required to actually turn at slow speed. The Police Motorcycle Course dedicates a week to this technique so that riders can effectively turn a 300kg motorcycle on any angle and in all conditions.

Here are some key points.
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Dean Saffron is an interesting guy. He’s a photojournalist who’s worked in places a lot of us would never want to go, and experienced things in life that most of us could never imagine. He’s seen the good in the world and maybe some things that would, quite simply, make you wonder.

Working as a photojournalist will give you that, and through his work he’s been able to share it with the world.

And Dean’s also a very passionate motorcyclist.

I had a chat over lunch with Dean a couple of days ago. We talked about many things, great rides we’ve had, mutual acquaintances and general bike stuff. But it’s Dean’s passion for road safety and in particular a project he’s working on to show the impact of motorcyclists’ injuries through not wearing appropriate gear that really caught my attention and it’s a part of our chat that’s worth sharing.
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Steve’s introduction to motorcycling was in the early 1980’s on the back of an ex-Police Kawasaki Z1000 on a twisty piece of road at Jenolan Caves west of Sydney. He was instantly hooked on the thrill of motorcycling.

Eager to learn, he realised very quickly that the licensing system at the time was hopelessly inadequate in teaching the skills necessary to become a safe and competent rider. He looked outside the system and completed his first advanced rider training course even before obtaining his road licence, and has been a passionate supporter of rider training and education campaigns since.

He became involved in road racing for many years, firstly as a competitor and then as an official, and worked at many Castrol 6 Hour races and Bathurst meetings in the 80’s as a member of Willoughby District Motorcycle Club.

After more than 25 years on motorcycles he still regularly attends training courses and track days to fine tune his riding skills and lives with the belief that “the day you think you know it all as a rider is the day you should hang up your helmet”.
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