There are more than six million current motorcyclists in the United States and the number grows daily

Motorcycle Accident Cause Factors and Identification of Countermeasures ( Hurt , 1981 ) has been the last comprehensive motorcycle safety study. Most of our safety standards today are based on this outdated study.

Motorcycle safety features, technology, motorcycle laws, motorcycle rider profiles and motorcyclist training programs have changed since the Hurt report. Motorcycle injuries and fatalities decreased in 1980's and early 1990's. As reported by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 2003 motorcycle fatalities rose 11 percent over the previous year, marking the sixth consecutive year of increases.What has changed? One must keep in mind however, that the number of motorcyclists are also increasing rapidly. A new, more current study is needed.

It is the goal of Two Wheel Touring to become a significant influence in motorcycle safety, by providing you with advanced information to increase rider's safety consciousness, make the public more aware of motorcycles and support environmental changes that protect motorcyclists as well as motorists.

Reference: http://www.msf-usa.org/

Road Rash, aside from the popular game, is the scraping away of your skin, etc. from your body parts as it slides along the road surface. Abrasions and possible lacerations are extremely painful. Your best choices for protection are thicker leather and abrasion resistant advanced technology lightweight fabrics such as Cordura, Gore-Tex and Kevlar. Keep in mind that Cordura nylon fibers will stretch over the bumps and snap back to shape. Kevlar fibers do not stretch and will grab the surface bumps and pull apart. Kevlar is always mixed with other fibers. Denim will not protect you! The clothes that you wear when you are riding are best when they meet certain requirements that depend on the current weather; keeping you warm, not making you too hot, fit well when in a riding position, protecting your skin, not flapping in the wind, letting the air flow through, keeping you dry, keeping the cold wind out, buffering an impact, not interfering with the control of your bike and making you visible. Wearing a leather jacket and denim pants only gives you half of the protection you need. Chaps are easily taken off if you stop and get off your bike to do other things. You can buy perforated, vented leather or the synthetic mesh for hot summer days. The roads abrasive surface is just as effective at removing your skin on hot summer days as it is on the cooler times. A good practice on those days that feel like you are driving in front of a hair dryer, is to wet down your shirt under your jacket. It may be comfortable to ride with short sleeves, shorts and sneakers in the summer, but there is a risk involved that can affect the rest of your life.

*Drivers wearing reflective or fluorescent clothing had a 37% lower risk of crash related injury than other drivers. Compared with wearing a black helmet, use of a white helmet was associated with a 24% lower risk, and daytime use of headlights was associated with a 27% lower risk

Some manufactures offer body armor or jackets with air bags. Some have a ripcord that attaches to the bike. This implementation could cause serious injury if the airbags malfunction or some factor would cause them to fire off while the rider is on the bike. If a rider is in a slide, the bag does not need to activate as in this situation, the bike is usually what receives the damage.

Another idea from an Italian company, Dainese (http://www.dainese.com/eng/d-air.asp), is the airbag vest, which is worn over the rider's jacket. It consists of an electronic unit mounted on the bike and a control unit set into a front pocket on the vest. The vest has three air bags. Co2 cans cold inflate the vest in about 30 milliseconds and maintain appreciable pressure up to 20 seconds after inflating. The vest protects the parts of the body most vulnerable to traumas; the entire upper half of the torso, neck and head. Sensing, triggering and memory is run by a CPU that monitors sensor data and triggers the airbags inflation under certain conditions. It has built-in memory that will record the speed at impact and rate of deceleration. The system has a self-diagnosis procedure that prevents undesirable inflation of the air bags in the event of a malfunction. It provides status information continuously to the rider on a graphic display. A vibration is used to maintain rider alertness during normal riding conditions and alerts to signal a malfunction. Cost is approximately $2K and is difficult to find in the US.

*http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/index.php?newsid=7136

Anyone who rode a motorcycle last year in a cicada infested area can vouch for how important eye protection is. Try to ride a bike with your eyes closed because a 3 inch bug hit your eye at 60 miles an hour! Even one hitting your forehead could almost knock you out. Sun glare, dust, rain, debris from the road that fly at you from other vehicles can all make you life miserable and compromise your safety. The importance of eye protection seems to be one thing that most bikers do agree on. Many states require eye protection. A windshield and ferring, of course, gives you additional protection.

Safety Sunglasses/Goggles

Safety glasses/goggles not only make you look cool, but they protect which is their main function. There are many different kinds. The trouble comes when you buy more for form than function. Ahhh - vanity!

The important factors you need to pay attention to are:

• Never wear any kind of tinted glasses at night - even amber reduces your vision
• Make sure your eye protection cannot blow off
• Anti-glare features
• Ventilation so that air can get behind them and prefent fog.
• Do they meet the safety standard?
• Goggles meet your face to protect from objects blowing under your lenses and have straps that go all around your head.
• Are you able to see to the side and have clear peripheral vision?
• metallic lenses may cause glare for other drivers

If you wear your normal daily prescription glasses/sunglasses, you must have a shield on your helmet to go over these glasses. Corrective glasses will not protect you.

The safest protection that you can have for your eyes is a shield on your helmet. A shield also protects your face. Some helmets also have a visor, tinted shield or a pull down sun screen for added daytime protection. Change your shield if it becomes cloudy or scratched so that viability is deminished. It is not recommended to use a tinted shield at night.

http://www.ehow.com/how_5257_choose-eye-protection.html

Motorcycle boots give you much more protection than shoes. They not only look great, feel great and protect you feet, but protect your ankles and shins from burns, insects, animals,debris, impact, and abrasions. If you enjoy having ten toes facing forward, boots are the only sound choice and well worth the money. Good fit of course is essential. Getting the correct width for your feet can be difficult, as many boots do not come in widths (boots in the Two Wheel Touring store are available in widths). Boots with heels help you stay on pegs and the soles protect you when you put your feet on the ground during a slow or stop. Make sure that the soles provide good traction. Boots should be flexible and not interfere with braking or shifting. They should not be able to get tangled in the pegs when you need to put your feet down.

Socks can make or break boot comfort. Cotton socks are more abrasive but absorb moisture. Synthetic blends are much smoother and help protect against blisters. It is a personal choice. Heated socks in the cold can make your ride much more enjoyable.

Gloves can protect you in many ways. It is common to get skin cancer on the back of your hands. Do not use gloves with cutouts on the back for the same reason. Sunscreen on your hands is not a good solution as when you sweat, it can run down to your palms and cause you hands to become slippery. A physical barrier to the sun is a safer choice. Warmth is an obvious advantage to gloves. They can protect the from the wind blowing down your sleeves. The instinctive behavior when you fall is to put your arms and hands out to protect your head and face. Even a fall while you are standing still can cause plenty of pain and damage to your fingers and hands. Heavy leather that is flexible is a good choice so that you continue to have good control of your bike. Some gloves come with bent fingers. Gloves can be perforated for the summer or have some synthetic fiber material in the construction for airflow.

http://www.soundrider.com/archive/safety-skills/crash_padding-pt1.htm

The sun can make us feel so good, and has a wholesome, well-being feel to it. It gives you vitamins, makes plants grow, lifts your spirits, gives us light and heat - we revolve around it. It is important that we respect it and play by it's rules. The sun can also endanger the life of a biker in several ways. THE SUN CAN KILL YOU! Exposure to sunlight can give you cataracts, skin cancer, age spots, block your vision with glare, heat exhaustion, dehydration, suppress proper functioning of the body's immune system and the skin's natural defenses, give you a headache, wrinkles, skin to match your leather jacket, and give you heat stroke.

The incidence of skin cancer in the U.S. is an epidemic. Your chances are 1 in 5 that you will develop skin cancer in your lifetime. One person dies every hour from this devastating disease in the U.S. alone. Melanoma, the most lethal cancer has more than doubled in the past 20 years, and the rise is expected to continue. Non-melanoma skin cancers are less deadly than melanomas but untreated, they can spread, causing disfigurement and more serious health problems.

The ozone layer shields the Earth from harmful UV radiation. Ozone depletion, as well as seasonal and weather variations, cause different amounts of UV radiation to reach the Earth at any given time. The National Weather Service and Environmental Protection Agency created the UV Index that predicts the next day's ultraviolet radiation levels on a 1-11+ scale, to help people determine appropriate sun-protective behaviors. (access daily UV lookup on our homepage) The sun's rays are strongest between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.

What to do - Sunglasses that provide 99-100% UVA and UVB protection will greatly reduce sun exposure that can lead to cataracts and other eye damage. A broad spectrum sunscreen SPF of at least 15 or higher can protect your skin. Reapply every 2 hours, as even waterproof sunscreen can come off when you towel off, sweat, or spend extended periods of time in the water. The exception is this - SUNCREEN CAN KILL YOU! If sunscreen runs into your eyes or on the palms of your hands when you are riding, it can sting and temporarly distort your vision which can cause you to loose control of your bike.

Solutions - try a regular daily moisturizer with SPF 15 or better that sinks into your skin. Reapply after sweating or several hours. There are many daily SPF 15 moisturizers in the cosmetic department that don't run. There are also sports sunscreens in stick or lotion. Try them on a non-biking day first, as some still have a tendency to run with sweat. Keep your jacket (try a perforated or mesh style for more air flow) and long pants on and sunscreen on your arms and legs if you take them off.

References: http://www.epa.gov/sunwise/uvandhealth.html | http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/sunexposure.html

The information provided above is intended to be a start in educating yourself only and is not a substitute for specific training or experience. Two Wheel Touring assumes no liability for any individual's use of or reliance upon any information contained or referenced herein. When going into outdoors and riding your motorcycle, it is your responsibility to have the proper knowledge, experience, and equipment to travel safely. You should take further steps to educate yourself, such as taking certified CPR classes, a Red Cross First Aid class, or talking to your doctor.

Trucks are designed to carry cargo or pull trailers. Sports cars are designed to carry 1 or 2 people and to go fast. Does your motorcycle look more like a sport scar or a truck?

Motorcycles are not designed to pull trailers, carry heavy cargo or have sidecars. Most manufactures advise against pulling a trailer and it can void your warranty. Trailers can cause problems with your tires in addition to handing and stopping problems. The extra weight of the trailer tongue combined with quick starts and stops put too much stress on the back tire and can cause it to fail. At best, you should be sure the load rating is up to the task and expect accelerated wear on the rear tire.

Dunlop's Tire Tips states that:

The use of trailers contributes to tire damage and touring motorcycle instability. Although most motorcycle manufacturers recommend against their use, a percentage of the motorcycles we have inspected were so equipped. The trailer tongue weight added to an already heavily laden motorcycle can fail a rear tire. The percentage of overloaded motorcycle rear tires found during our inspection would have been higher if trailer tongue weight had been considered. The forces of rapid acceleration and deceleration may also multiply the effects of trailer tongue weight. The addition of accessories, cargo, and dual riding to touring motorcycles aggravates the problems of overloading and under inflation. The excessive flexing that results from under inflation or overload causes buildup of internal heat, fatigue cracking and eventual carcass breakup resulting in complete failure. A consequence of such failure may be an accident with serious personal injury or death.

It makes you think when you see 2 up on a bike with extra cargo high on the bike, pulling a trailer behind them.

If you are considering pulling a trailer, first you should make sure that your suspension and drive line as well as your tires are are rated to carry the extra weight. Service brakes EARLY if they are the least bit questionable. Make sure that ALL of the tires have proper inflation. In addition to making sure that you have a reliable, safe ball hitch and trailer, make sure that you cross your chains under the tongue before connecting the chain to the hitch. Without this precaution, if the hitch dislodges from the ball, the tongue will fall and scrape against the road until it gets caught in the pavement. Crossed chains will catch the tongue. Invest in good chain connectors. Each time you start a journey, check them to make sure they are in good condition and working properly. Two chains are recommended and required in most states. Safety chains are very much like helmets -- you really, REALLY hope that you never actually need them, because if you do, you are almost certainly in very serious trouble! You are always responsible for any damage that the loose trailer might cause, provided you survive such an incident. When riding in a group pulling a trailer, be the last in line. Never ride behind any vehicle with a trailer.

When packing the trailer, make sure to put the heaviest objects in the bottom, on top of the wheels and just barely forward. If you put the heaviest objects to the rear, it can contribute to your hitch coming loose and/or result in some rather bizarre handling characteristics. If you put the load too far forward - it puts too much weight on your back tire, which may have various dangerous consequences (loss of steering, braking power, stability and probability of overheating and possibly blowing your back tire). Use lightweight blankets or empty cardboard boxes, etc in the front and back to secure the cargo and prevent load shift as you brake, accelerate or ride over any significant dips. You should check the position of the load each time you make a stop and at regular intervals. Try not to pack anything high, which will affect your center of gravity. If you must pack high, make sure that it is very light. Try to determine the total weight of your trailer and cargo and try to balance for 10% on the tongue. Check the weight distribution of your trailer while the tongue of the trailer is at the height it will be when connected to your bike. The weight transfer will lessen in proportion to the length of the tongue (longer being better). Never overload a trailer (300 lbs max. including the trailer, even if you have a large bike). The more weight the less control you will have. Double check to make sure that the coupler is latched and locked.

Always remember that you are pulling a trailer! If you are unable to see the trailer in your mirrors, put a flag on it. When you start to pull the trailer, take it easy the first few miles while you are getting used to the difference in handling.

References:
http://www.dunlopmotorcycle.com/infocenter_tiretips.asp?id=31#tip
http://www.motorcyclecruiser.com/streetsurvival/packing/
http://www.motorcycletrailer.com/tlrload1.htm
http://www.msgroup.org/forums/mtt/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=142&SearchTerms=trailers
http://www.scif.com/news-info/lc-bulletins/bungee.htm

Cargo

There is never enough room on a motorcycle if you are touring for several days. Remember this rule - there are stores all over the world that carry toothpaste, sweatshirts, underwear, jeans, etc. If you forget something, or run out of something, you can usually buy it somewhere along the way. Washing your clothes frequently is another alternative.

Here are the do's and don'ts: Try to keep the weight as close to the center of gravity of the bike as you can. The center of gravity is usually near the top of your transmission case. Heavy = keep it low. Be careful what you strap to sissy bars = keep it light. If you have saddlebags, keep the weight balanced. If you don't have a passenger you can make use of the empty seat. Don't obstruct airflow to the engine. Be mindful of chains and hot areas and careful not to block your lights (especially that all-important brake light!)

Be aware the GVWR (gross vehicle weight rating) that is recommended for your bike by the manufacturer. Your owner's manual and the VIN plate both list GVWR, the maximum total weight of bike, fluids, riders and luggage that the manufacturer recommends. There is also a GAWR (the A stands for axle) for front and rear wheels. Keep in mind the weight of accessories that you may have added to your bike - those little gadgets and extra chrome can add up over time. Make sure that your tires have proper inflation.

Be cautious while you are getting used to the difference in handling due to the extra weight. If you notice a increase in braking distance, your back tire is getting hot, or you experience significant handling difficulties, stop and remove some weight. Your cargo is not worth your life. UPS, USPS and FedEx will be delighted to ship your items to you at home, or send them ahead of time to your destination if that is possible. One of the smartest ideas I ever saw, was a UPS booth set up at a motorcycle rally. I'm sure that helped to increase sales for the rally vendors.

Bungee Cords

Careful of bungee cords. A cord that is under tension suddenly letting go can translate to a painful and dangerous experience! A cord can recoil at speeds up to 60 mph! If a cord looks worn - throw it out.

• a hook can be pulled out of the user's hand as it's being stretched into place
• the hook may disengage from the attachment point
• the attachment structure could fail
• the hook itself could straighten out
• a cord could break
• a hook could break away from the cord

You may want to use different devices such as rope, nylon straps with connectors or an elastic cord net with many different hook ends all around it.

If you must use bungee cords, follow these safety procedures recommended by State comensation Insurance Fund:

• using extreme caution when stretching the cord over a load
• securing hook ends carefully
• never extending the cord beyond its capacity of length or load
• keeping the face and other vulnerable body parts away from the cord's rebound path
• never using bungee cords to hold a surface which reacts to wind or air movement