BikerThomas.com

With spring coming up in a couple of months, it’s time to get prepared!

Share This!

Spring is in the air in Northern Europe and my bike is back on the road again, what a great feeling! The battery was flat just like last year (must be those gremlins eh?), but that was entirely my own fault as I , once again, waited waaaay too long before connecting my maintenance charger. A boost with a stronger charger and the battery was just fine. You know what I’m talking about, I’m probably not alone on this right? We’ll get it right next year ;-)

After a spring clean and a few kilometres into the new season there’s a couple of things that pop into my mind about safety at the start of a new season. First thing I noticed is this, OTHER DRIVERS ARE NOT USED TO SEEING MOTORCYCLES!!! We’ve been hiding all winter, and cage-drivers don’t remember to look for motorcycles on the road. I guess it takes a little while before they do, so take care out there. This, combined with rusty motorcycle skills over the winter is potentially a lethal combination.

How’s that for a first post of the season huh? A bit serious right? Oh well, I’ll be back with awesome photos and some fine trip reports as soon as I’ve been out on the road, I know a lot of you really appreciate the pictures from Norway and I really appreciate your nice comments and feedback. Please don’t hesitate to contact me or even write in my guestbook I you feel like it.

Share This!

Bikesureblog, an insurance company initiative, have made a simple printable 1-page checklist for everyone to download. About time these companies give something back to the man, eh!?

It’s a great little checklist to have. Be sure to check your bike before you put it on the road!

Click here to download the checklist (free!)

Share This!

Now here’s something new, Reevu’s MSX1 helmet features a built-in rear-view mirror! Reevu calls this the “Vision System”. The helmet relies on an entirely mechanical mechanism rather than rear-view cameras. There’s a small mirror in the front resting just outside the rider’s line of sight.

Oh, and according to WebBikeWorld.com the helmet is also really good at protecting your head ;)

Click here for full review.

Check out the video below!

Share This!

Shark has released a new helmet series called “RSI-carbon”. The helmet manufacturer are building their new series on the old RSR2-carbon series. The helmet scores 4 stars in the Sharp test (same as the Shark Evoline mentioned in a post last year). The old RSR2-carbon series gets 5 stars in the Sharp test, mind you. Shark promotes its’ new helmet series as an ultra light option where the helmet is  made up of 35% carbon fibers, 35% epoxy resin, 15% aramid fibers and 15% multi axial fibers. The weight is from 1290g to 1360g, depending on the size you need I guess.

The RSI-carbon helmets come in 4 different colours; black, orange, red and white.

Link: http://www.shark-helmets.com/search.php?searchword=RSI+CARBON

PDF: http://www.shark-helmets.com/emailing/2010/RSICarbon/EN.pdf

Share This!

Youtube is great! Here are some short video clips on safety awareness for cagers and bikers alike. Share them with everyone you know!

Share This!

I found some great tips that all motorcycle riders and passengers should read before riding 2-up. I’ve found two great articles on this:

eHow: How to Be a Good Motorcycle Passenger
Chuck Hawks 11 tips for the motorcycle passenger

Share This!

While sitting on the bus out of Oslo yesterday I saw a motorcycle accident. The bike seemed fine but the driver was laying on the ground getting medical attention. There was an ambulance and a helicopter there and a loooong line of cars queuing up to get into Oslo.

The motorcycle season has started in Northern Europe and many riders haven’t been on their bike for 5-6 months. Rememer that it takes many miles of riding before you’re as good a rider as you were last year!

Share This!