April 2012 - Essex RoSPA Advanced Motorcyclists

Essex RoSPA Advanced Motorcyclists
RoSPA Riders Magazine
Issue 18
April 2012
www.rospariders.co.uk
In this issue:
Classifieds I
2
Editorial
3
Meetings etc.
4
Group activities
4
Committee
4
Chair’s Corner
5
March Social Ride
6
Illusions
7
Pillion ride
8
Profile
9
Chambres D’Hotes
10
Not the…
10
Membership Report 15
Police standards
16
SUBs
16
June meeting
17
Testing & Training
18
Members’ small ads 19
Diary dates 2012
20
Old V New
21
Lead Acid
25
Classifieds II
26
Well, most of us do, most of the time.
Jaques asks if this big enough to get the
message across to the rest?
Essex RoSPA Advanced Motorcyclists
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RoSPA Riders Issue 18
April 2012
Classifieds I
Total Advanced Training
Advanced motorcycle training
email: [email protected]
Phone: 07813 167749
Based in Essex, we provide professional advanced
motorcycle training for London and the South East.
We offer a range of post-test courses from ‘back to
biking,’ which is aimed at confidence building,
through to riders wishing to undertake the highest
advanced qualification; namely, the RoSPA Gold.
The Chief Instructor, Mick Jones, is a highly respected and qualified
retired police motorcyclist holding advanced IAM and RoSPA Gold
qualifications. He is a Driving Standards Agency qualified instructor
and a member of the Driving Instructors Association. He holds a
Diploma in advanced tuition and is currently a Regional RoSPA
Examiner and a Bike Safe Assessor. Training will be conducted by
Mick in person or other suitably qualified instructors.
We provide excellent tuition and use state of the art technology with a
camera bike filming the training. For a small fee, a personalised DVD
can be produced for riders to view their achievement. Total
Advanced is the only training company recognised by Equity Red Star
Insurance who will discount riders who achieve our advanced
accreditation qualification.
Prices range from £50 - £160 for a full day’s training.
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April 2012
Essex RoSPA Advanced Motorcyclists
RoSPA Riders Issue 18
Editorial
Hello again – and welcome to the 18th edition of the RoSPA Riders
magazine. Thanks for the response to the call for articles. Long or short, with
or without pictures; all is welcome.
The weather seems to be picking up now and I hope I’ll get a few more
social miles in this year. In February, I sold the Mana, which I used mainly for
commuting, so I will be using the Guzzi from now on. One of the things I liked
about the Mana was that, it having auto transmission, I could go on longer
rides without ending up with muscle cramps in my fingers. On occasions, I
have neared the end of a longer ride not wanting to change gear at all
and losing concentration to this fact. I’ve always had this problem and the
Guzzi is no better than any other bike. The more I use a clutch, the better it
is, but it still requires putting in more miles and with the price of petrol being
what it is, it gets expensive!
A couple of days after Francis Maude made his ridiculous call to panic over
petrol, I was passing a Gulf forecourt at Gt. Saling and we saw the price of
unleaded and diesel being advertised at £1.47 & £1.57 per litre. O.K., that
was abnormal, but on 13th April, the price had fallen only 6p per litre and it
started to make me think about how the cost of fuel has risen, just in the six
months since I retired. I’m glad I don’t have that cost to add to my weekly
bills. Fuel is never going to get cheaper again and, short of Shanks’s pony,
there is not much alternative to internal combustion engines. (See tail end
article for another viewpoint on this).
Talking of cost, I recently had the zip on my leather jacket fail, so it was off
to Hideout Leathers to have it fixed. I had had some trousers made there
some years ago and, after an initial waistband adjustment (made smaller, I
might add) I was left with a rather uncomfortable lump in the centre of the
waistband, where a new join was made, and which was pressing on my
spine. I tried to live with it, but finally I took them back at the same time as
the jacket and Kate cheerfully altered the trousers while I waited – moving a
belt loop and adding another – at no cost. I should have gone back earlier!
The repair to the jacket works out at about three tanks of fuel but that, of
course, is considerably less than a new one jacket. They, too, have certainly
risen in price since I bought mine about 10 years ago. When I left work I
reasoned that I could afford to retire, but I’m starting think I might not be
able to afford to ‘live’! … Ed
Disclaimer Notice: The articles published herein do not necessarily represent the views of the Essex Rospa Advanced Motorcyclist
Group. They are the opinions of individual contributors and are published with a view that free expression promotes discussion and
interest.
Essex RoSPA Advanced Motorcyclists
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RoSPA Riders Issue 18
April 2012
Meetings etc.
Group activities
Group social
night
19:30 on the 3rd Thursday of the month, February December.
Essex Police Sports Pavilion, St Margaret's Road,
Springfield, Chelmsford, Essex, CM2 6DN.
Group annual
dinner
Christmas dinner? Bah – humbug. Join us on the 3rd
Thursday in January for an evening of variety: chicken
chunder, posh nosh or bargain burgers? You choose.
Propose a venue and we’ll vote on it!
Group social
rides
09:30 on the 3rd Sunday of the month, 9:30 a.m. at
Boreham (BP) Services, CM2 5PY
If there are any changes or additions, meeting places
and/or times will be announced at Group Night. For
most up to date information, please see our website
and/or our newsletter.
Newsletter
Advertising
Please contact the Editor to change contents.
Personal small ads are free to members. Please send
them to the Editor.
Committee
Chairperson
Sandra Murphy
[email protected]
Secretary + Regalia
Jaques DeKlerk
[email protected]
Treasurer
Solveig Hart
[email protected]
Membership
Sandra Murphy
[email protected]
Training
Paul Collins
[email protected]
Publicity
Kevin Stranks
Webmaster
Steve Bancroft
[email protected]
Ride co-ordinator
Richard Parker
[email protected]
Newsletter editor
Members
Steve Webb
Gary Carter
Peter Layley
Phil Reader
George Brown
Ashley John
[email protected]
Life Member
Raffles
Deputy training officer
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Chair’s Corner
I feel very honoured to be writing this report,
so thank you all for supporting me in my new
role as Chair – is that chairman,
chairwoman, chairperson or just chair? (Only
one letter away from being a charlady – Ed.)
Personally I don’t really care; those of you
who know me will know that I don’t care
much for airs and graces… I’ll just get on
with the job quietly. However, I would like to
make a song and dance about Ashley.
Ashley was one of the founder members of
ERAM and has been Chairman since the beginning back in 2006. That’s a
long time to head up the group, and of course he has been instrumental in
making it grow to where we are today. ERAM has come a long way since
the early days – we now have a large membership, a brilliant training team
of dedicated tutors, diligent committee members, we assist with BikeSafe
training, and we have a solid presence at local events. But most of all, we
have you as our members. I’ve heard it said many times about the friendly
membership at ERAM. That goes a long way to welcoming new members
and making them feel at ease.
I would also like to welcome the new committee members – Steve Bancroft
(webmaster), Jaques de Klerk (secretary & regalia) and George Brown
(general committee member). It’s good to get fresh ideas, so I look forward
to even more improvements. Already we are planning group night events
and having ERAM presence at local events during 2012. This includes the
Essex Motorcycle Show (re-branded from Burnham BikeSafe) on Sunday 29th
April at Weston Homes Community Stadium, Colchester. The event is run by
Essex Air Ambulance, so please come along and give your support if you
are able to. Volunteers are also needed to help man the ERAM stand, so let
me know if you can assist.
If you have any suggestions to help improve the group, please don’t
hesitate to let me know. After all this is your group and we want to ensure
we keep you as members rather than just concentrating on attracting new
members.
Smurf
Essex RoSPA Advanced Motorcyclists
RoSPA Riders Issue 18
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April 2012
March Social Ride
By John Parker
The day was forecast to have poor weather, heavy intermittent rain and
cold. Also coupled with clashing with Mother’s day it was bound to be a
second choice for most. Fortunately the crowd control did a superb job and
we three were able to set off at the allotted time, myself, Graham and
Dimitar [our new Bulgarian member].
This was to be a short ride of 100 miles or so and to be back home just after
lunchtime, to dry our soaking clothes and repair our spirits. We headed out
along the A414 to Ongar, a fast sweeping road, with the first police
presence. We experienced a smattering of precipitation (or was it an
overhead bird not happy with us?) Then northeast using narrower bendy
roads through Dunmow, Finchingfield and Haverhill, where Berbatov
replenished his fuel tank.
We were wondering what was going on as we saw our second and third
police presence. I am sure we kept to the speed limits and Graham has a
clever gadget which records our maximum speeds. Not sure if I should ask
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him what speed we were achieving, something about innocence – honest,
guv.
Then a short ride to the friendly Tubby T’s [once known as Hard Times Café
as it is near to the prison] on the A143 and a most welcome beverage and
cake. The cakes were allowed as, in order to retain our svelte appearance,
we decided to have our coffees without cream instead of without milk.
We reached Bury and using the 1066 dropped south to Long Melford,
Sudbury and Bures Hamlet; even narrower country bendy lanes. No major
problems, no more police presence, but we did encounter groups of
cyclists on the road [how dare they] but using our DRS [remember we are
svelte] we quickly overtook them.
No rain, a bit of sun, ended the ride with the same number that we started
with, and home to lunch and tea.
Happy days.
Illusions
One bright sunny morning a while ago, I was travelling in lane 2 down the
A130 along with unevenly spaced commuter traffic and goods vehicles
when I saw something move quickly, low down on the central reservation a
short distance ahead of me. My brain registered the movement OK, but
there was a noticeable delay between that, and when body reacted by
tensing and my fingers instinctively started toward the brake lever. A split
second later, I realised what I had seen was a goods vehicle shadow, that
had been running at constant height along the crash barrier, ‘travelling’
down the termination slope where the crash barrier ends.
Good, perhaps, that I reacted to a possible danger, but not so good about
the reaction delay…
OK, I was ‘seeing things’ and to get a handle on just what tricks the mind’s
eye can play, have a look at this: http://www.michaelbach.de/ot/.
Don’t miss the even interesting, or alarming, motion induced blindness
effect that is featured on a site that was suggested to me by John Parker:
http://www.msf-usa.org/motion.html. It is used as evidence of the need to
constantly scan your environs, rather than stare fixedly ahead.
Yes, I’m aware that there may some recipients of this organ who may not
normally access the internet, but it is worth visiting for this alone – Ed.
Essex RoSPA Advanced Motorcyclists
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April 2012
Pillion ride
To all ERAM members - a date for your diary 24th June: the first pillion picnic
ride to Dedham in Suffolk.
We are developing some slightly different activities for our club to get better
involvement from all, as not all members and partners are into high mileage
rides (or even motorcycles). We are putting together some additional
activities and we need these events to have a good turn out, so please
make the effort to show up and have a go; they need everyone to support
them to be a success.
The pillion picnic is a short ride out and is therefore is a chance for the other
half to enjoy a short ride down some lovely rural lanes with other group
members and then have a chat at a picturesque venue when savouring
whatever delight you have brought along on the bike with you. Why not
bring your primus and water, make a hot drink, have a sit on the grass and
have a chat to the others who have joined for the day. Bring the food you
want to eat and enjoy the fresh air while having a picnic. Our first
destination will be Dedham so put it in your diary for the 24th June. Meet at
the Springfield services as usual at 09:30 for a 10:00 get away. The missus
can still have a lay in, so we all win.
Enjoy the day!
George Brown
We are hoping to organise this so that those partners who don’t share an
enthusiasm for bikes can join in anyway. There may be some who may want
to drive over and meet at the venue. Keep an eye on the website or look
out for final announcements at club nights – Ed.
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Profile
Name: Stuart Roat.
Nickname: I use stu2316 on the internet.
Age: 36
Occupation: Computer Technician.
Date you joined ERAM: Mid 2009
How did you hear about ERAM? From friends.
What made you join? More training and a social
ride each month.
Had you previously taken any advanced training or passed any advanced
tests? Yes.
Who was your tutor? Jane Wilson.
Current bike/bikes: Honda VFR750FV
How many bikes have you owned? Three.
At what age did you first ride a bike? Probably 6-7: my cousin’s little
motocrosser in the garden; I was 28 when I rode on the road.
What was your first bike? A Yamaha RXS 125
What's your best bit of bike kit? The Bike!
Does your partner/wife ride or go pillion? N/A
Biking hates: Rain and winter (and so say all of us – Ed.)
What's your favourite road? Scotland!
What's your favourite destination? Austria (so far).
Biking ambition/s: Keep at it and stay safe.
What's the best bit of advice you have been given or that you would give?
Get training. I ride quicker now than before, when I thought I would
probably kill myself, but now feel safe riding quickly.
Apart from biking, have you any other Interests? Lots; manly watching TV.
Hmm. I know that was a typo Stu, but any ideas what manly watching TV
might be? Weight lifting? Top Gear? Beach volleyball? – Ed.
Essex RoSPA Advanced Motorcyclists
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April 2012
Chambres D’Hotes
Sue Whitford
has recommended a place to stay in France. I’ve
reproduced the business card here, so you have as much information as I
do! She has this to say about it:
The B&B is biker
friendly and is run
by an English
couple in AuxiLe-Chateau,
a
small town which
is an ideal base
to tour the Pas
de Calais and
the
Somme
Battlefields.
They have secure
parking and a
drying room. They also welcome bikers to stop for tea if they are in the area.
Gillian and Albert both ride.
Sue says they don’t usually advertise as they normally get bookings from
recommendations and word of mouth. I got to know about them as they
are friends of my parents who live in a small village close by! They do have
a website though: http://www.french-dressing.fr/index-eng.html
Not the…
…Mothers’ Day Rideout
By Anthony Greenwood
Fooled by a mini March heat-wave, we ventured outdoors after the clocks
springing forwards to find a cold and misty morning. Thinking any moment
that the fog would burn off, many of us had set off wearing summer gloves
and lightweight kit assuming that our trip to Suffolk would soon warm up.
Despite the fog – gathering wet on our visors - the road remained dry, and
by now almost free of the dreaded salt, and what for some of us was
nevertheless the first warm season trip of 2012.
Around eleven bikes, nearly half of which were Kawasakis, met at our
traditional BP services gathering point near Boreham for bit of subdued
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early banter and ride-leader Keith's briefing talk. Keith rather disarmingly
warned us the route wasn't too well known to him, and to expect the odd
navigational adjustment, but then amazingly, and in complete
contradiction to his modest navigational disclaimer, proceeded to reel off
the route in utterly precise terms, entirely from memory, village by village,
road by road name and number. So, no-one was surprised that the entire
day went without any navigational problems whatsoever. (Especially seeing
as Smurf was kept well clear of any active navigational role, by very kindly
acting as tail-end on "the wasp" which was the sole bike representing the
mighty Honda brand.)
In fact the route was a major and highly memorable feature of the day for
all the right reasons. Some familiar places, some new, and even some I'd
never heard of... and mercifully the A12 was studiously avoided. Up until
Sunday, I had thought that I knew Suffolk quite well. In fact the route and
pace were ideal from many perspectives, including for Jaques, who was
treating his n'th big Z14 to an ideal running in session; indeed, our chum was
particularly pleased for the benefits to his bores, always being so careful on
the glazing issue....
A brief stopping off mid-morning, to take Smurf-pictures of cold red noses,
and find a loo. There was a hot drink too, for some quick thinkers.
Essex RoSPA Advanced Motorcyclists
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April 2012
Our destination was an ideal one: A wild and sparsely populated spot on
the Suffolk coast, immediately adjacent to an exposed and pebbled shore.
On arrival a few of us dashed up the bank to see and smell the sea. We
soon scuttled back again to seek shelter in the steamy and appetisingly
fragrant atmosphere of yet another excellent iconic cafe, specialising in allday breakfasts and ice-creams. I noted that Solveig only briefly scanned
the extensive ice-creams menu, then wisely decided to postpone until
warmer times.
The cafe was jumping with coast-walkers and bikers, all very friendly and
kindly giving up their tables for us after our brief queue to place our orders
at the desk. Jaques eventually joined us inside after initially proposing to sit
at a table outdoors in his short sleeved t-shirt. Perhaps that new Z14 had
been generating lots of heat with its new tight bores, or maybe it was just
another chance to prove how tough African ex-pats really are...
I was delighted to find the my seat at the table was next to a hot radiator,
and enjoyed chatting while warming, and waiting for our food to arrive.
Being so busy, it took a while, but was well worth waiting for, especially the
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generously large and warming pots of tea. We talked of possible plans for
summer trips and about George's intriguingly secret performanceenhancing inventions... performance enhancing for the bikes I assumed.
We did see a brief taste of George's enhanced performance on the return
route when, on one of the few straight bits of road, he couldn't resist
opening-up for a blat and giving us all a taste of Ducati-esque rorty
acceleration.
The overall ride pace was perfect, being well suited to the local road
nadgery, and we were all grateful for our distinctive tail ender who kept up
her duties throughout the entire day. A day which ended after a careful
and organised gradual loss of those taking short cuts home, leaving about
half of us remaining to say our thanks and farewells at the Boreham McD,
where the kindly Phil treated us to premium hot drinks. Thanks Phil, and
thanks to all for making the day so enjoyable, especially that excellently
planned route.
Steve Bancroft’s Ducati played up and wouldn’t start at the services after
fuelling. A quick look under the fairing revealed nothing that could be easily
seen, so a bump start got Steve on his way to return home. It was a simple
fault that he tells me was eventually traced to poor crimps on connections
between the starter motor and battery via the starter solenoid. - Ed
Essex RoSPA Advanced Motorcyclists
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April 2012
Thanks for the write-up Anthony. I left the ride at Needham Services as I
had, by then, got cold right through, so I missed the beach café. I’ll make a
point of going there sometime when the weather is warmer.
I didn’t want to hijack this article, but I wish I knew what to do about the
problem of getting cold - on the bike or any other time. On the bike I can
wear several layers, thick winter gloves, use the heated grips and tuck my
feet down into the warm slipstream from the cooling fins and still everything
goes numb – well; perhaps not everything, but it gets too small to find, so I
guess that kinda counts.
I was out in the garden doing some lawn weeding recently and Mara was
doing a bit of pruning. It was about 10-12 degrees and after a while I started
getting really cold. When I got into the house, I realised that my hands had
gone blue with cold – like on the above ride – and I couldn’t feel the backs
of my hands or my feet. In contrast, Mara wondered what the fuss was
about. My problem is a totally trivial one but, on a ride, everyone else
toughs it out whilst I get home after half a ride with my extremities quite
literally blue with cold.
There has to be an answer to it, but I don’t know what it is – Ed
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Membership Report
Membership figures for 2012 have slowly
crept up, but alas we have only had 51%
of members renew. I’m hoping this is an
oversight rather than by choice. The good
news is that we now have two new Tutors
so those of you still on the waiting list
shouldn’t have too much longer to wait for
your one to one Tutor.
Membership figures as at 11th April are:
Associates
Full
Total
19
41
60
Welcome to the following new members:
Graham Corbett, Roger Wardley, Mark Lampitt, Dimitar Kehayov
Congratulations to the following for their test pass:
Name
Grade
Tutor
Examiner
Paul Williams
Bronze Peter Spindley Mark Anderson
Jaques de Klerk
ERAM Tutor
Anthony Greenwood ERAM Tutor
*Denotes Retest
Active Tutors: Ashley John, Peter Layley, Sandra Murphy, Paul Osborne,
Richard Parker, Brad Pearman, Geoff Preston, Phil Reader, Peter Spindley,
Kevin Stranks, Jaques de Klerk & Anthony Greenwood
Sadly, Terry Geraghty is to leave the area for pastures new. We would like to
thank him for his efforts in helping the club.
Smurf
Essex RoSPA Advanced Motorcyclists
RoSPA Riders Issue 18
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April 2012
Police standards
Twice recently, in a short space of time, I have been waiting at light
controlled junctions when I have seen a lack of attention by police drivers –
both in marked cars. On one occasion, the driver sailed through red lights
before realising his mistake. He dropped anchor in an unseemly fashion and
then inched back toward the stop line.
On the second occasion, a police car with a (rather attractive blonde) lady
driver was waiting at the head of a queue in the left hand lane of a filter
controlled junction outside a Police Station. The left filter signalled green
and off she shot, straight ahead, to be (I guess) surprised at the traffic that
was in the process of turning right across her. The driver was forced to stop,
of course, and then was faced with a dilemma: was she to brazen it out
and wait for the straight ahead filter, or turn left? She did the latter. Slowly.
And then stopped on double yellows for some reason.
None of us can claim never to have made mistakes (yes, I know, especially
me) but to see two fairly big errors in the space of a few days leads one to
wonder if standards may be slipping or that police workload leads to
making mistakes like the rest of us mortals - Ed.
SUBs
Nothing to do with U-boats, bathyscaphes or even sandwiches from outlets
of dubious quality – this refers to single-use disposable breathalyser kits.
A couple of club members have advised me recently of the necessity to
carry a minimum of one, but preferably two kits when travelling in France.
Care on the Road and Advanced Driving advise that new laws will make
the equipment compulsory for all vehicles on French roads from July 1, with
anyone caught without the equipment facing an €11 fine from November.
“The kits, costing £1 to £2, are expected to be available at Channel ports
and will enable motorists to see if they are under the French limit of 50 mg
per 100ml of blood which is 30 mg lower than in the UK.”
My experience of buying anything at Channel ports is that
everything is all but rounded up to the nearest £1… Halfords
sell these kits. The Alcosense twin pack costs £4.99. Value
breathalysers also sell triple kits at £4.99 online but wherever
you source yours from, bear in mind is that the ones for use in
France MUST carry the NF (Norme Française) logo or they are deemed
invalid - Ed.
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RoSPA Riders Issue 18
ERAM REGALIA
If you would like to buy a polo shirt or sweatshirt embroidered with our
group logo please speak to Steve or Sandra at group night, or post a
message on the forum of www.rospariders.co.uk
Polo shirts at a reduced price of £9.50 – sizes M, L, XL and XXL
Sweat shirts are £12.50 – sizes M and XL
Other sizes can be ordered. All colours available as long as it’s black!
Buying and wearing the Regalia is for a good cause as it supports
Advanced Motorcycling which we all love. Thank you for your support!
June meeting
The June club night will be a ride-out, which will be run in two groups;
Richard Parker will lead one with Phil Reader leading the other. We may
stop en-route for a bite or get back for a stop at McDonald's. Final details
will be posted on the website nearer the date.
Please meet at police social club fully fuelled and ready to roll: the first
group to leave at 7pm and the second group will leave at 7:15pm.
Essex RoSPA Advanced Motorcyclists
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April 2012
Testing & Training
RoSPA Advanced Tutor Training
Tutor training will be provided by the Groups Advanced Tutors on a
structured three day programme. Interested Gold and Silver RoSPA Riders
can train to become approved tutors and share their skills and experience
by helping to train associates.
This is a worthwhile exercise and has many benefits other than the obvious
ones. It may be that you haven’t ever considered tutoring others and,
possibly, you don’t think you are suitable for the task. Please don’t let that
put you off - give it some consideration. You may well find that you have
hidden talents and that you find you enjoy helping others to become as
good as you are after all, you will have obtained a Silver or Gold in the first
place!
Talk to Ashley John, Paul Collins or Phil Reader at a group night or contact
Paul on his public email address: [email protected]
Test ready?
Has your tutor advised you are test ready? If so, Smurf has a supply of test
application forms.
You can also obtain these from RoSPA HQ or download from the website.
The full link address is: http://www.roadar.org/drivers/info/membershipapplication-form.doc. If you are not reading this on a PC, go to
www.roadar.org and follow the link.
If you submit your application through the Group, ERAM can claim £3 from
HQ towards Group funds. Please make a cheque out to Essex RoSPA
Advanced Motorcyclists for £54.
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Members’ small ads
That page heading is not a euphemism! It is an opportunity for you to sell
those unwanted items, or plead for where you might be able to buy those
hard to find items (or hope someone will take pity on you and offer them for
free, á la Freecycle…)
Wanted
Small motorised bike – anything considered (even a moped).
Contact Steve: [email protected]
For sale
Abba Stand. Also, inserts for SV650 and SV1000.
Also a front paddock stand. Offers to Steve: [email protected].
Interlude:
Essex RoSPA Advanced Motorcyclists
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April 2012
Diary dates 2012
Date Event information
April 1 WSB Round 2: Imola
6-9 BSB Brands Hatch Indy
13-15th BSB Thruxton
14th London BikeSafe
22nd WSB Round 3: Assen
28th WSB Round 6: Miller
Motorsport Park
29th Essex Motorcycle Show
2012 – this is a rebrand of the
Essex Bike Safe Show. Moving
from Burnham to Weston
Homes Community Stadium in
Colchester
May 5-7th BSB Oulton Park Intl.
6th WSB Round 4: Monza
13th WSB Round 5: Donington
Park
19th London BikeSafe
19th BMF Show east of
England Showground,
Peterborough
25-27th BSB Snetterton 300
June 10th WSB Round 7: Misano
16th London BikeSafe
17th Custom Motorcycle Show,
Beaulieu
21st Club night group ride
22-24th BSB Knockhill
24th Pillion picnic ride
July 1st Jane Wilson Memorial Ride
1st WSB Round 8: Motorland
Aragon
6-8th BSB Oulton Park Intl.
19th Club ‘Garden Party’
20-22nd Brands Hatch GP
21st London BikeSafe
22nd WSB Round 9: Brno
Date Event information
Aug 5th WSB Round 10: Silverstone
25-27th BSB Cadwell Park
26th WSB Round 11: Moscow
International Raceway
Sep 7-9th BSB Donington Park
9th WSB Round 12:
Nurburgring
16th Essex Air Ambulance ride
to Harwich
21-23rd BSB Showdown TT Cct,
Assen
23rd WSB Round 13: Portimao
28-30th BSB Showdown,
Silverstone GP
29th London BikeSafe
Oct 7th WSB Round 14: MagnyCours
12-14th BSB Showdown,
Brands hatch GP
20-21st 19th Carole Nash
Classic Motorcycle Mechanics
Show, Stafford County show
ground
Got any dates you want to add,
remind or tell me about?
[email protected] of course…
Page 21
Essex RoSPA Advanced Motorcyclists
April 2012
RoSPA Riders Issue 18
Old V New
Is the new Green Machine, the new Mean Machine?
Jaques de Klerk
As the dying days of 2011 drew in, whispers had wafted across the seas from
our Japanese friends that Kawasaki engineers had been secretly working
on a largely new and heavily revised ZZR1400 for 2012 with the current
model largely unchanged since its release in 2006-2011.
On visiting Kawasaki UK in November 2011 the rumours turned out to be
true, for pride of place in their head office, stood the 2012 ZZR1400. On
seeing the new machine, I duly started to dribble and slobber all over their
showroom floor; some even say they heard whimpering.
We were advised it was not to be sat on, however I asked “how can a bike
be promoted if I don’t know how it feels” Craig from Kawasaki eventually
relented and Jaques the whimpering attendee was allowed to sit on, touch
and play with the new toy. It was at this point that it came to me - a voice
deep within, “Jaques” it said “you have to have it” and there my tortuous
troubles of trying to justify having the new model began!
Essex RoSPA Advanced Motorcyclists
RoSPA Riders Issue 18
Page 22
April 2012
Eventually having satisfied and locked away all my sensible thoughts and
letting all my wayward ones come out to play, I duly purchased the new
2012 model in golden starburst green in March 2012, hereby and forever
more to be known as Kermit!
So how does the new machine compare to the last two I’ve owned? It has
a great deal to live up to, as the previous model proved to be exceptional,
with only minor issues from the first model needing warranty claims. In total
the first two ZZRs giving me a total of 117,000+ miles of largely hassle free
fun, be it commuting, travelling Europe or just for days out with friends.
On initial looks, Kermit doesn’t look that much different from the outgoing
model; however, to someone like me, there is a vast array of changes, from
lighter wheels, traction control, cooling jet oil feed nozzles to the belly of the
pistons ZZZZzzzzzz! The list goes on and on and, yes, I’m interested in all things
mechanical. However, to most, the vast array of under skin changes shall
go largely unnoticed, for the Kawasaki engineers make everything fit and
work together in such harmony, that you actually don’t need to know!
The bike face looks more aggressive than the outgoing model and beneath
the fresh skin, the chassis feels stiffer and the suspension firmer, whereas on
the old you felt as though the bike wallowed under hard cornering, though
the suspension was in fact designed to work on the bottom of its stroke.
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April 2012
Essex RoSPA Advanced Motorcyclists
RoSPA Riders Issue 18
Fuelling on the new model is dramatically improved on the 2009-2011
model, with only a murmur of fuel ECU mismatch at 2500rpm, whereas the
2011 model hunted between 3500-4000rpm, which meant a deft hand was
required to keep the machine from shunting like a grasshopper in any gear
when between 3500-400rpm. Overall though, the fuelling of the original
2006 model was better than either the 2011 or 2012 models, which begs the
question with advancements in electrical software and components, why is
it that practically, many new machines seem to suffer glitches which then
have to be revised in subsequent years? All theory calculations based on
computer models is one thought.
So how does the 2012 model perform? Well, with the engine capacity being
upped from 1352 to 1441, mid-range power has been improved, which of
course was needed (ahem) and what happens when you grab a handful
of throttle is truly phenomenal. I, of course, being well behaved and ever
restrained,I wouldn’t know these things, but Kermit wanting to help when he
heard of this write up and my predicament, put me in contact with his good
friend miss piggy who kindly gave me her opinions - having flagrantly
pushed the new ZZR to its designated legal limits of course.
Twisting the throttle in any gear, had miss piggy scrambling to hold onto the
bars, and in her words, “nothing quite prepares you for near 200 BHP at the
back wheel” The acceleration being so harsh her pigtails nearly detached
themselves from her scalp, of which she was not best pleased, and of
course Kermit the wee ZZR green mean flying machine shall have to suffer
her wrath: “glad it’s not me”.
Essex RoSPA Advanced Motorcyclists
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RoSPA Riders Issue 18
April 2012
At 5000 rpm, with traction control set to one and in third gear, twisting the
throttle has the front lifting and the traction control kicking in to momentarily
drop power to stop the rear wheel ripping up. The force is brutal and you
lunge forward quicker than a cheetah, but with all the force of a charging
bull elephant. A straight road quickly becomes a bend and even at the
higher end of the scale, the force of acceleration never drops, miss piggy
has confirmed that in order to keep riding Kermit, she is investing in Velcro
gloves and pants to ensure she stays glued to the saddle when progressing,
bimbling or meandering (chuckle)!
On the back roads where more
sane individuals such as I ride
Kermit,
the
stability
and
manoeuvrability of the new ZZR
soon becomes evident and it
outshines the outgoing model in
all areas. Kermit is so much more
tactile when you lean into a
corner, unlike the old model
which needed manhandling at
speed and, as most know, I’ve
only little chicken wing arms so
this was a nice surprise for me,
as on the old model I had to
constantly flutter my wings to
slow down and guide the old
ZZR round a bend, whereas on
Kermit, the ride is sublime.
Much as the old, the seating
position is spacious and pegs
low enough that two hour stints
in the saddle bring no hint of leg
or back ache and the cockpit is
full of electrical gadgetry,
logically laid out and easy to read, with 3 levels of traction control and 2
levels of power, Low= 150bhp and High 207bhp. Also, there are other useful
items on display, air temperature being one I find very helpful as it aids
riding in cold conditions and gives me another tool for safety, as anything
below 4-5 degrees could mean ice at ground level!
Try one; you just might like it!
Jaques
Page 25
April 2012
Essex RoSPA Advanced Motorcyclists
RoSPA Riders Issue 18
Lead Acid
See that? It’s a mountain of lead-acid batteries that are due to be
recycled. This, paraphrased, is from a recent technical report:
“China has an extremely rapid rate of electric scooter adoption... there are
more than 100 million electric bikes, each with a car-sized battery that is
changed every couple of years; that is a tremendous amount of lead. But
now you also have solar power ambition that could increase lead usage
(for power storage batteries). Developing nations have a thriving (illegal)
cottage industry in which hundreds of thousands of informal recyclers
collect used lead-acid batteries - mostly from cars and electric scooters and either take them to back yard factories where they are crudely
smelted, or simply break them up themselves. The lead in a single battery
can provide a month's salary, but lead powder and fumes leak into the
local environment, giving rise to serious pollution problems”.
As fossil fuel becomes more and more difficult to source, fuel production
costs are going to rise and more people will choose to use electric vehicles.
Raw materials and central generation costs will therefore rise and there will
almost certainly be an increase in domestic electricity costs to recover lost
fuel tax revenue. If it’s not CO2 or lead pollution, it’s money. As a species
using transport, we just can’t seem to win – Ed.
Essex RoSPA Advanced Motorcyclists
RoSPA Riders Issue 18
Classifieds II
Page 26
April 2012
Page 27
Essex RoSPA Advanced Motorcyclists
April 2012
RoSPA Riders Issue 18
Paul Collins is Chief Instructor and owner of his own advanced rider training
school Perfect Control. The school specialises in advanced riding skill tuition
and all post-test motorcycle rider training. Using radio communications,
Perfect Control give on-road, real time tuition, with advice and correction
given at breaks in road sessions, skills check sessions, briefings and session
critiques. Structured training courses are: Back-2-Bikes, skills improvement
training, DSA enhanced rider scheme, advanced riding techniques and
training to RoSPA, IAM & DIA standards. Perfect Control offers great
opportunities for riders of all abilities to improve their skills and continue their
development.
CONTACT DETAILS:
www.perfectcontrol.co.uk
Mob: 07941 803043
Email: [email protected]
Essex RoSPA Advanced Motorcyclists
RoSPA Riders Issue 18
April 2012
01702 338843, or [email protected]
Keys cut for bikes, cars and domestic
Motorcycle physical security products
Locks and safes supplied and fitted
Advice freely given
Also:
Page 28
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