Bike Safe

  In December while at the NEC Motorbike show we came across the Bike Safe stand. We sat and listened to a short talk on cornering and decided we would like to attend a full day.
 On Sunday 17th April a cold and frosty but clear morning Col and I set off to the Police Training centre called Tally Ho in Birmingham. We arrived and met with some of the guys who were at the bike show, Richard,  Paul, Stuart, Glyn, John and the others.

   After a brief introduction we were split into groups and ours was first out on the roads. A Police rider named John was stood by me and said "right your with me". He told me which way to head and I set off with my own Police escort. The first time you look in the mirror and see a marked Police bike close behind you is a little strange, but then you remember that for this ride this guy is your friend. For 2 hours we rode around Birmingham, Redditch and surrounding areas, on all types of roads, around town and twisty country lanes. Most car drivers see the Police bike and just quickly got out of our way, as we passed everything we wanted too where the road permitted.
 We stopped for a chat for 10 minutes and John told me he thought I was doing good, but offered some useful feedback about positioning when passing side roads, looking further away to give myself more time and to use the throttle to pull through the corners.
 Next was the course on the carpark through the cones with Stuart and Glyn. For this we were to use only clutch and rear brake. Apart from a couple of engine stalls when turning right, we both managed to do a clear round, even though Police rider Stuart made me laugh when he told us we missed a cone out....yeah right superbikes steering locks aren't that tight! 
But we were filmed doing it and put on the Police twitter feed,  (below).

 Finally we attended a 2 hour class room session, with Richard and Paul (or Marcus) who went over hazard perception, cornering, Junctions, Overtaking, Filtering and Group riding. They us about the method that Police riders use which was very interesting and informative.
  We paid £35 each as we bought it from the bike show but full price is only £50 and its definitely worth it. The guys really know their stuff, they do this to help inform riders of the hazards out on the road that come in many shapes, they show you how to control your bike at slow speed and assess your riding. Personally I think however good you think your riding is, there is always some advice or something you can learn from attending this type of workshop.

Thanks to all involved with Bike Safe.

Money well spent!

Head to Bike Safe for more information and to book yourself on a Bike Safe Workshop.

Thats Me and Col in the middle in black.
Video and photo from Police twitter feed.

Improve your Sports Bikes MPG

 In our end of year survey I asked, ''What would be the best improvement you could make to your motorbike?" and the most common reply was better Economy.

Every year we at EDSBK while on one of our road trips do an ECO challenge, this is mostly to give us something to think about when on the long journeys between fuel stops. We record the miles traveled and the fuel added this gives a reasonably accurate measure of how well the bikes are performing and to make it more interesting make a competition out of it. Over the few days we are away our average MPG ranges from 37 - 52 MPG  depending if we are cruising or going for it. 
  Sports bikes are designed to go fast, the engine is designed to deliver lots of power to the rear wheel and not to deliver lots of MPG. The shape of the sports bike is to cut through the air and its low weight is also an advantage to achieving a higher MPG, but you don't buy a sports bike for its economic fuel usage. Taking advantage of its design and keeping it in a good condition can yield a reasonable MPG figure providing you ride in a fuel conserving way.

The Miracle Product

 At this point I would like to say there is a product out there that's going be the answer to our question giving an average 60mpg to the typical sports bike rider. There isn't one. However, an improvement can be made with some thinking around your bike,kit and riding style.

What works?

 I have been reading other peoples fuel saving tips, there are some good ones out there. Here's some examples of them and my thoughts on how it affects sports bike riders.

 Remove excess weight
EDSBK - Our bikes were designed to be light,  after market exhausts can save a few kilograms for the money they cost, but unless your a racer with a good budget realistically there's not much to be made here. If you worry about saving weight try putting yourself on a diet!

 Use correct tyre pressures.
 EDSBK - We regularly check our tyre pressures, it makes such a difference to how the bike handles and improves MPG. Best of all this improvement only costs 50p

  Slow Down. Twisting the throttle uses more fuel.
 EDSBK - Boring. OK the way to improve here is on roads like motorways and dual carriageways just cruise along in 6th gear at the speed limit, tuck yourself behind the screen and your MPG will be as good as you can get it. Once you get onto the more exciting stretches of road you can give it some beanz as you will have saved a bit of fuel.

 Keep the bike moving, an idling engine does 0 MPG
EDSBK - The advantage of a motorbike is being able to avoid queuing by passing any stationary traffic waiting to get into the field to the car boot sale. Even riding slowly and getting 5 MPG is better than nothing. However if you can see that there's nowhere to go and your going to have a long wait, turn the engine off for the best fuel savings.

  Be aerodynamic, use a full face helmet and tight clothes.
EDSBK - I dont like a face full of dead flies so always use a full face helmet. Last years trip to Scotland rained a lot, so flappy wind catching waterproofs were required on some parts of the trip. On all the bikes the MPG dropped when wearing these, but as our speed was slightly lower due to the poor weather conditions it almost evened things out.

  Keep the bike in good condition
EDSBK - A nicely polished clean bike with correctly aligned wheels,adjusted chain and a fresh set of plugs,oil and filters will improve you MPG by a fraction.
The main thing to remember is the harder the engine works the more fuel it uses and the more money you spend. 

 Change to a different style of motorbike
 EDSBK - Not for me yet. All of the above will help to save fuel, you might get up to an extra 5 MPG if you really try, but you have to ask yourself, why have a sportsbike if you want excellent MPG? If the difference between riding as normal or riding economically on a Sunday morning ride is only 3 or 4 MPG will you even notice when you next fill up the fuel tank. Why worry about fuel costs when the tyres and insurance cost as much as they do?
  For most of us owning a sportsbike is for fun, racing around a circuit on a track day, an escape from the usual daily routine or for a morning out with your mates, so is the best thing just to take it for what it is?
 Of course you can do all the above on any style of motorbikes, but for now I still like, the look, speed, handling and sound of Sports and Superbikes.

 Go green use electricity
EDSBK - Sports bikes that run on electrickery have a few major flaws so far. They weigh more than a petrol bike, and more importantly cant do the mileage, OK 90-100 miles seems to be the figure most manufacturers are quoting which is good enough to get us to the Cafe on a Sunday morning, but how do we get back home? Going touring for a few days would be out of the question. The good thing is these latest electric bikes look right, they have very similar dimensions to the petrol bikes and as time goes by these bikes are getting better. Who knows in 10 years time electric super bikes could out perform petrol bikes and charge times could be just a few minutes. Until then I will be riding my petrol bike.

Some of my favourite Electric Superbikes

 

Nope I'm not ready for one of these yet!

Ethanol

 Recently at work we have employed a new guy who had been running his own service station. We got talking about fuel prices and fuel saving methods, which is when he started telling me about Ethanol being added to petrol. I decided to look deeper into what he had told me and the following is what I've found out based on what he had said.

 In 2013 the Ethanol content in Petrol is due to go up from 5% to 10%. This move from the European Union is received by many as a greener alternative to crude oil. Fuel companies are obliged to add 3.5% bio fuel to both Petrol and Diesel and each year the content of bio/renewable fuel is set to rise by a small percentage.

 What is Ethanol?

 In short Ethanol is a modified form of alcohol, made from distilling fruit, vegetables or grain, which is a good way to get rid of unwanted crop waste and use less fossil fuels, and as it's made from plants they would absorb some of the carbon that vehicles generate as they grow. Sounds just what we need to help save the environment.

How will affect us?

 Research estimates over 750,000 motorbikes wont run on the mixture of Petrol and 10% Ethanol without some adjustments.
Ethanol is acidic so is very corrosive. When added to petrol the fuel is of a poorer quality.
 Being corrosive, Ethanol will clean old deposits from the fuel lines and fuel tank which can block up the fuel filter and in some case's cause running problems. Ethanol will cause damage to rubber pipes and seals, it reacts with sealants and on older engines can cause carburettor icing when humidity is above 77% and ambient temperatures are below 12C . In the USA they have been using a 10% mixture already, and common problems from the poor quality of the petrol is causing engines to struggle with starting, lack of power and mpg can be up to 10% worse than with 5% mixture. Once you have filled your motorbike with fuel at the service station, you should remember that Petrol with Ethanol added has roughly, only a 3 week life span, after this the petrol and the ethanol separate which is called Phase Separation.

Phase Separation describes what happens to Petrol containing Ethanol when water is present. When Petrol containing even small amounts of Ethanol comes in contact with water, either liquid or in the form of humidity, the Ethanol will pick-up and absorb some or all of that water. When it reaches a saturation point the Ethanol and water will Phase Separate, actually coming out of solution and forming two or three distinct layers in the tank. The only option when this happens is to get rid of the fuel as it will damage the engine.

 Fuel specialist are advising fresh Petrol every 3 weeks, as at present there is no additive that will stop Phase Separation.


(For more information click here to visit the Motorcycle Action Group website)

 Some of our bikes are affected see below.

Kawasaki are still considering the effects of E10 and do not recommend its use.

Yamaha models are compatible with E5 and some new models are compatible with E10.

Suzuki's have been compatible with E10 since 2005.

Honda models have been compatible with E10 since 1993 but carburettored vehicles could suffer poor drivability.

All the major Fuel brands currently run a mixture of 5% Ethanol in Petrol, apparently added to the tanker in seperate operations. Supermarkets get their supply's of fuel from the same refineries, I cant find any other details, so expect them to have the same content.

Super Bike Phone Apps

   Over the last 12 months I have been using the Pirelli Diablo Super Biker app for my iphone.
 I am amazed at what it can tell you and at how well it does it.
   Each time we go along our favourite road the A483 I start the app. Now, I don't ever try to beat any times, etc after all its a public road, I just take it as it comes, if conditions permit I'll lean the bike over around the corners and pass slower moving vehicles so the data that gets recorded is only just for my own interest and nothing else. However the App has 2 modes, 1 for road use and one for track use. Now the information provided around a circuit would make for far more interest, especially if you were setting up suspension or trying a new performance parts or doing track days.

Start Screen

 The app records things such as:-

Stock Picture

 Journey Time, Distance, Max speed, Average speed and Maximum lean angle, then laps of the same circuit can be compared. It overlays your route over a photo map so you can see where you have been. This worked great until the recent update to the Apple Iphone IOS which did away with Google Maps replacing it with the far inferior Apple Maps so the map quality has gone and you look at a wobbly red line in a square of blobs, but that's Apples fault not the makers of the App's.
It works all this out from the GPS signal, the accelerometer and the built in gyroscope in the iphone. We have carried out a few test on the system, testing speed distance, max lean with great success and accuracy. 
   Lapping a circuit gives extra data such as allowing you to compare 2 laps to see where you were faster and how much lean angle you applied, and share the data on facebook. Like I'm ever gonna do that!
   Unfortunately the last update has somewhat cocked this info up, it has almost doubled some of the stats. For example, the first time I used it after the update, the app informed me I had travelled over 120 mph and had a lean angle of 65 degrees, impossible I thought, I didn't go anywhere near 3 figure speeds along there. Luckily I have gone back to the previous version (1.4) which is the one that works for me, and the figures when combined with video evidence are within 1 mph and 1 degree so that's good enough for me.

 We use the app for our Ashwood Triangle competition to record the lap times.
 (This will be available in a later post)

To try it for yourself for free Click Here

Eco Challenge

Every year while on our road trip we do an Eco Challenge. This means everytime we fill up with fuel I have to write down how many litres of fuel each of us drew.
 The fuel used ranged from 55.1 MPG to as low as 36.4 MPG over the 6 days.
We all took the same amount of luggage and used the same Oxford Hump Back soft luggage.
 Our trip was 905 miles which included a good mixture of roads and steep hills, a fair bit of stops to take photos, eat, drink, repair and dry off. 400 Miles were on Motorways and the rest A or B class roads.

Loaded

Col on the Honda Fireblade with a 900cc engine recorded the best MPG at 55.1, this is down to the combined weight of the bike and rider being the lightest which gives a good power to weight ratio. He averaged 48MPG over the trip. His average MPG when wearing his waterproofs dropped by 4MPG

Rich with the Kawasaki ZX636 a 600cc machine got 52.7MPG at best and averaged 47.6MPG over the trip.His average MPG when wearing his waterproofs dropped by 1 MPG

Phill with the Yamaha R1 a 1000cc machine got 50.8MPG at best but averaged 45.3MPG over the trip.His average MPG when wearing his waterproofs dropped by 2.5 MPG

Jon on the Suzuki GSXR another 1000cc machine got 48.7MPG and averaged 43.6MPG over the trip.His average MPG when wearing his waterproofs dropped by 3 MPG

Ed is the average of the 4 of us.

 For 3 journeys we were wearing waterproof over suits, which have a lot of loose fitting areas and flapage, when on these journeys the bikes average MPG dropped by 1-4 MPG.

 This year I have scored it in the same method as the Olympics, counting the amount of Golds, Silvers and Bronzes for the 5 catergories below.

• Average MPG
• Best MPG
• Tolerance (The difference between best and worst MPG)
• Best MPG compared to MCNs figure
• Difference between biggest and smallest amount of litres bought

 Results 

                                         Gold            Silver        Bronze

Best Average MPG           Col              Rich          Ed

Best MPG                         Col              Rich          Ed

Tolerence                          Ed               Phill           Jon

Better than MCN              Rich             Phill           Ed

Difference between fill ups Col              Ed             Phill

 Col - Honda Fireblade  3x Gold    0x Silver    0 x Bronze

 Rich - Kawasaki 636    1x Gold    2x Silver    0 x Bronze

 Ed - LAW of Average  1x Gold    1x Silver    3 x Bronze

 Phill - Yamaha R1         0x Gold    2x Silver    1 x Bronze

 Jon - Suzuki GSXR       0x Gold    0x Silver    1 x Bronze

Can You Hear Me?

     Myself and Col have always ridden using Ear plugs since reading an article on the subject of hearing loss in a growing number of motorcyclists in a bike mag in the late 90s. It has been proved that riding a motorcycle at 60mph has enough of the engine noise,exhaust note but mostly the wind noise rushing past your helmet to produce more than 90 decibels which is enough to cause hearing problems like tinitus and hearing loss. Recently I was talking to Rich about this so thought I would do a post on the humble but hearing saving ear plugs.


 So with that in mind hear are our findings. (see what I've done there? hear, here,Oh forget it!)


Plugs
There's lots of them to choose from ranging from little bits of round foam or sponge, the longer spark design types, one's that look like mini Christmas trees, to specially made silicon types and even ones that can be made to fit by taking a cast of the inside of your ear so it fits perfectly.
We have tried a number of types but the best ones we have used are coincidentally the cheapest ones, which are called E.A.R. Plugs Classic. These are supplied in abundance on ebay, you can get 20 pairs for £3.50.

Our Favourites

Fitting the Ear Plug.
     We found rolling and squeezing between your fingers the one end so that it looks like a Y shape. Stick the thin bit into your ear, wait about 60 seconds while it expands and everything starts to go quiet. Shh!
Sometimes the one side might need re doing as it hasnt expanded properly, the technical term for this is the ear plug has failed to aggrandize (yeah it is a word).
We prefer the shorter ones that dont rub on the inside of your crash helmet as those that do will eventually work loose and you can feel off balance when that happens.
 When your happy, helmet on and away you go.

Using the Ear Plug
    What you ll notice is you can still hear the engine, exhaust and wind, not to mention the cars around you, the rain on your visor, dogs barking, sheep shagging and horns blowing.
Just quieter than normal, any odd rattles and hums instantly disperse when using the plugs, with the visor locked down, its like stepping into a luxury car and closing the door! #

 When ridding along motorways or boring types of roads something that I like to do is find the speed and engine note that when using ear plugs make the bike almost silent, its is between 65 and 70 in 6th gear on my bike, all you hear is the whine of the gears.
I imagine it could be a taste of the future and how electric bikes may sound, well maybe! 

Fits nicely

Some of the others

So you want to get your bike licence?

    Our friend Rich has been talking about doing his bike test and getting out on the road with us for just over 18 months, and in December 2011 he passed his bike test 1st time.

 This is what he had to say about it.

There are 5 parts to passing your bike test and loosing the L plates.

CBT (Compulsive Basic Training)
You need this to ride a bike on the road, whether you want to do your bike test or ride a small capacity bike for up to 2 years.
 The CBT involves riding round cones and riding out on the road with an instructor.

Theory Test
 This consists of 50 questions about all aspects of riding, highway code, basic 1st aid and bike maintenance, you need to correctly answer 43 or more of them.

Hazard Perception Test
 This is 14 video clips where the candidate has to click the mouse/ press a button whenever a hazard looks like it could occur out of a possible 75 points you need to score 44 or more.

Module 1

Wheeling bike from a bay facing forward to a bay next to it, facing outward.

3 cicuits of a slalom then into a figure of 8

Riding for about 20 mtrs at walking pace.

Do a 'U' turn without going over lines or putting a foot down.

Ride through cones and stop in a designated box.

Emergency stop after being recorded at over 50km/h (30 mph)

Avoidance test, again after riding over 50km/h

 

 

Module 2

Answer show me/tell me question.

Answer question on the effect of carrying a pillion.

Eyesight test

30 minutes riding assesment while being followed by instructor.

includes a section of independant riding where you are told to follow signposts for a certain place until being told otherwise by instructor.

Getting on the road

Heres a rough guide to the costs of getting through the test and getting on the road:-

£120 CBT+ bike hire

£31   Theory/Perception Test

£450 2 days lessons fees for Mod 1+2

£150 Helmet but pay what you think your head is worth

£100 Jacket, look for leathers with the armour facility

£100 Trousers

£50   2 pairs gloves, 1 for winter and 1 for summer

£150 Decent pair of boots

£XXXX your looking at a 4 figure price for a decent bike 

£60   Bike Tax

£20   MOT

£60   Various warm clothing

£50   Chain lube, disk locks and bits and pieces

Upwards of £200 for Insurance

Also if you dont have a garage

 £999 gets you a secure metal bike garage/shed.

Rich