Thousands of Bikers not Properly Protected

Many bikers could be in breach of road safety laws and their insurance policies, recent research has discovered -  and what’s worse is that may of them don’t even know they’re doing it.

This startling lack of knowledge has been highlighted in a survey that quizzed 500 bikers about their habits and behaviour – and the results really are worrying. For example, despite it being illegal, 40% of provisional licence holders have carried passengers, even though 88% know they shouldn’t. Not only is this illegal, but should an accident occur there is all sorts of potential for an insurance company not paying out.

More than one in five riders of large engined bikes also admitted that they were not properly licensed to ride them as well, another nightmare should an insurance claim ever need to be made – In fact, by riding a bigger bike and not having proper insurance the money spent on insurance is wasted: Not only is it illegal, but the company will almost definitely reject any claim made against you.

Riders with bigger engines are statistically the most reckless as well: 14 percent had travelled more than 10mph over the speed limit in the last month compared to 5% of small engine riders, and 20% of large engine riders had crossed the centre road line to overtake compared to 16% of low-powered bikers. More riders also crossed the stop line at traffic lights while the lights showed amber or red as well.

When broken down by age, the over 55s are seemingly the most accident prone, with 35-44 being the safest age group (Of whom only 10% had been in an accident in the last month).

The best way to protect yourself from injury whilst on a motorbike is to be properly attired – helmets and leathers all round, natch – but this is seemingly lost on the 5% of women who admit to riding their bike or moped in heels – although the 82% of people quizzed who thought that it was illegal to wear red whilst riding will be happy to know that it is, in fact, perfectly legal to wear it.

With so many easy ways of invalidating your motorbike insurance, the best thing to do is to make sure you know the law. Keep up with revisions of the Highway Code, and you could consider taking a few lessons every couple of years, just to keep yourself on top.

Vintage Cool Takes Place in Goodwood

A Bonhams auction on Sunday will celebrate 20th-century cool.

The sale takes place during this weekend's "Vintage at Goodwood," a festival of popular music and fashion from the 1940s to the 1980s at the West Sussex estate of the Earl of March. The festival, which is being held for the first time this year, is the brainchild of British fashion designers Wayne and Gerardine Hemingway of the "Red or Dead" label, in conjunction with Lord March.

The Bonhams sale offers an iconic hodgepodge of cars, motorbikes, watches, guitars, posters, photographs, jewelry, furniture and film props covering 1940-1990. Celebrated names associated with the items include the Beatles, Rolling Stones, The Who and Eric Clapton.

A top highlight is a Challen upright piano from Studio Three, Abbey Road, used by the Beatles for a number of recordings, including John Lennon's "Tomorrow Never Knows" (1966); and by Pink Floyd for the band's album "Wish You Were Here" (1975). The piano is expected to fetch L100,000-L150,000.

A charcoal-gray wool jacket with a velvet collar that was custom-made for Rolling Stone Brian Jones is a major lot in the fashion section (estimate: L12,000-L15,000). It is offered alongside one of the iconic, crocodile Kelly bags by Hermes from 1988 (estimate: L10,000-L15,000); and a triple-strand simulated-pearl necklace worn by Jacqueline Kennedy in the early 1960s (estimate: L25,000-L35,000).

Swinging London lives again in British photographer David Bailey's "Box of Pin-Ups" (1965), a set of images of the legendary figures of the time, including Mick Jagger and model Jean Shrimpton (estimate: L3,000-L5,000). An enameled City of Westminster street sign for Carnaby Street, one of the coolest shopping destinations in 1960s London, is expected to fetch L800-L1,200.

The Lambretta motor scooter was a style icon of the 1960s, favored by the fashion-conscious Mods, a pop subculture primarily in Britain. A circa 1968 Lambretta SX 150 covered with the Union Jack carries an estimate of L4,000-L5,000.

Source: www.wsj.com

Bikers Welcome: Monday Is Ride To Work Day

If you haven’t already, you should take time this weekend to top off your motorcycle’s gas tank, check the tires and battery, and hope it doesn’t rain on Monday. June 21 is the 19th annual Ride To Work Day, and organizers say they expect a large turnout — perhaps the biggest ever.

Ride To Work, a group that coordinates the event, says an increasing number of people are using motorcycles and scooters as economical, fuel efficient transportation for commuting, errands and other trips. They can also add an element of fun to an otherwise boring journey. More than 80 million passenger cars and light trucks are used for daily commuting in the U.S., the group says. There are about 200,000 people commuting on motorcycles and scooters, and that number typically swells on Ride To Work Day.

While motorcycle commuters expose themselves to greater risk than  most drivers, they also enjoy advantages in parking and maneuverability in traffic. Studies also have shown that commuting motorcyclists make better time than those in cars over similar distances. Motorcycles and scooters also use less fuel per mile and take up less space on the road. 

Mugello MotoGP - Qualifying times

 

Reigning seven time MotoGP champion Valentino Rossi has been ruled out of his home event after fracturing his right leg in morning practice.

1.Dani PedrosaESPRepsol Honda Team1m 48.819s
2.Jorge LorenzoESPFiat Yamaha Team1m 48.996s
3.Casey StonerAUSDucati Marlboro Team1m 49.432s
4.Nicky Hayden USADucati Marlboro Team1m 49.546s
5.Colin Edwards USAMonster Yamaha Tech 31m 49.683s

6.Randy de PunietFRALCR Honda MotoGP1m 49.737s
7.Ben SpiesUSAMonster Yamaha Tech 31m 49.861s
8.Andrea DoviziosoITARepsol Honda Team1m 50.0650s
9.Aleix EspargaroESPPramac Racing1m 50.168s
10.Hiroshi Aoyama JPNInterwetten Honda MotoGP1m 50.224s

11.Marco Simoncelli ITASan Carlo Honda Gresini1m 50.434s
12.Loris CapirossiITARizla Suzuki MotoGP1m 50.479s
13.Hector BarberaESPPaginas Amarillas Aspar1m 50.561s
14.Marco MelandriITASan Carlo Honda Gresini1m 50.664s
15.Mika KallioFINPramac Racing1m 50.970s
16.Alvaro Bautista ESPRizla Suzuki MotoGP1m 53.243s

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Yamaha 'deflated' after Rossi's crash

 

 

Rossi and team-mate Jorge Lorenzo have won every race so far this season and pulled clear of the competition in the riders' standings - with Lorenzo currently heading Rossi by nine points, but the next rider - Honda's Andrea Dovizioso - already a full 28 points off the lead.

 

However Rossi is now set to miss several races having sustained an open fracture to his right tibia when he had a high-side in Mugello practice today. He has undergone surgery and is expected to be on crutches for approximately six weeks.

 

Yamaha's motorsport boss Lin Jarvis said it had been an extremely tough day for the team - particularly as it had happened at Rossi's home track, where he took seven straight Italian Grand Prix wins between 2002 and 2008.

 

"It was a very sad day today for Yamaha and the Fiat Yamaha team, seeing Vale in so much pain and seriously injured for the first time in his career," Jarvis said.

 

"It is especially tough for Vale to have this accident at his home grand prix and this will surely be a huge disappointment for him and for all his fans here at the Mugello circuit and around the world.

 

"As a team we are very deflated right now because we had our two riders challenging for the championship lead and now that challenge is over - at least for the immediate future. We wish Vale the very best for a speedy recovery and hope to have him back with us as soon as possible."

 

Jarvis confirmed earlier today that Yamaha would continue to run two works bikes in Rossi's absence, but has not yet given any hints of who it is considering as his stand-in, though speculation has focused on his former team-mate Colin Edwards, now with the satellite Tech 3 Yamaha squad.

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Rossi fracture pinned during successful surgery

 

Rossi was flung from his Fiat Yamaha at highspeed on entry to Turn 13 and was clearly in considerable pain as he lay in the gravel trap. Initially taken to the circuit medical centre, Rossi was then transferred by helicopter to hospital in Florence where he underwent immediate surgery.

Rossi was operated on by Dr. Roberto Buzzi and assisted by Dr. Claudio Costa of the Clinica Mobile. Dr. Buzzi made the following statement following the 2.5 hour operation:

"We received Valentino Rossi at the Careggi Hospital, where we made detailed checks in order to rule out any other injuries, and the results were satisfactory. We therefore decided to proceed with the surgery for the exposed fracture of the right leg. We performed a spinal block (epidural) and cleaned and washed the fracture, which was then aligned and stabilised with a pin.

“The surgery had good results; the alignment was good and the bone is now stable. The wound remains open, as is usual in these cases, and it will be stitched in the next few days with another short surgery. We are confident that Valentino will be able to leave the hospital in a week to ten days, able to put weight on the leg with the aid of crutches.

"It is difficult to say how long the post surgery rehabilitation will take, we need to evaluate the progress of the patient and also what the x-rays will show. But I think that we can reasonably think of six weeks partial weight-bearing with crutches, after which Valentino needs to be re-evaluated, according to his feedback and further x-rays."

Six weeks on crutches surely rules Rossi out of the next six rounds, up to and including Laguna Seca on July 20, after which the summer break begins.

"It was a very sad day today for Yamaha and the Fiat Yamaha Team, seeing Vale in so much pain and seriously injured for the first time in his career,” said Lin Jarvis, managing director of Yamaha Motor Racing.

“It is especially tough for Vale to have this accident at his home Grand Prix and this w ill surely be a huge disappointment for him and for all his fans here at the Mugello circuit and around the world.

“As a team we are very deflated right now because we had our two riders challenging for the championship lead and now that challenge is over - at least for the immediate future. We wish Vale the very best for a speedy recovery and hope to have him back with us as soon as possible."

Rossi is presently second in the 2010 MotoGP World Championship, nine points behind team-mate Jorge Lorenzo, who will start Sunday's race from second on the grid. Repsol Honda's Dani Pedrosa starts on pole with Ducati's Casey Stoner third.

Rossi's injury brings an end to 230 consecutive grand prix appearances since his 125cc debut in 1996.

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Pedrosa pulls away for Mugello win

Reigning seven time MotoGP champion Rossi missed his home race after fracturing his lower right leg in a Saturday morning highside and could be sidelined for months. 

Just before the start, Lorenzo held up a message for Fiat Yamaha team-mate Rossi saying "Everyone can feel pain, but not everyone can be a legend”, while the whole of the Ducati grandstand displayed the word “Vale” with red and white cards. 

Rossi himself then gave a message via telephone from hospital, which wasbroadcast over the circuit PA system to the fans. Rossi, who was watching on TV (see separate story), said he missed everyone and would be back soon. 

In Rossi's absence, Pedrosa converted pole into the race lead and simply rode into the distance, helped by nearest rivals Lorenzo and Dovizioso exchanging second place in the early stages. 

Pedrosa's lead over the Lorenzo/Dovizioso battle reached eight seconds, before the Spaniard put his factory RCV into cruise control to claim his ninth MotoGPvictory by 4.014sec. 

Lorenzo shook off Dovizioso in the closing stages to be the only rider to finish all four races this season on the podium, and the #99 now holds a 25 point lead over new nearest rival Pedrosa, with Rossi slipping to third. 

Dovizioso at least had the honour of being top Italian and standing on his home podium, after his third third-place of the year. 

On the podium, an unhappy Lorenzo - he later said he wanted to win to dedicate it to Rossi and couldn't understand his lack of pace - wore a “VR 46” t-shirt. 

 

The fight for fourth was the only contest to stay alive to the flag, with Marco Melandri, Randy de Puniet and 2009 Mugello winner Casey Stoner trading places for much of the race. 

Stoner secured fourth - his best result of the season - with a last lap pass on Melandri's Gresini Honda, while LCR Honda's de Puniet was left to settle for sixth, having led the group on the penultimate lap. 

Ben Spies, who ran as high as fourth in the early laps, lost touch with the trio ahead on the final lap, but seventh place was just the kind of solid race he needed after failing to reach the flag in the past two events. 

It will also do his chances of being called up to replace Rossi no harm at all, especially since Monster Yamaha Tech 3 tam-mate Colin Edwards - favourite for the temporary promotion - sunk back to 13th in the race. 

Rossi is likely to be replaced by Catalunya at the latest, which follows Silverstoneand Assen on July 4. 

Stoner was the only Ducati rider to finish after team-mate Nicky Hayden suffered his first DNF of the year, the American sliding out of sixth on lap six. Another Desmosedici rider, Mika Kallio, also failed to finish. 

Behind Spies, the top ten was completed by Aleix Espargaro, Marco Simoncelli and Suzuki's Loris Capirossi. 

Pramac's Espargaro claimed his best MotoGP finish, while Honda Gresini's Simoncelli charged through the field after running off track on the opening lap.  

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