Fatalities Down, But...

An article in the September issue of RoadBike magazine states that motorcycle fatalities are down again to 4,376 in 2010. Still seems a heck of a lot to me though.....

Body Armor may not save you on all conceivable crashes, but it's sure gotta help! I get mine here www.actionstation.com

Safety Inspections in the US vs UK

Having lived in California for 13 years now, it still amazes that there's no stream of safety related wrecks here!
In the UK we have MOT Testing which is an $80+ mandatory test to make sure your car or motorcycle is safe to go on the road. Sensible things like tires, brakes, steering and rust etc. Yet in Cal and most of the US there's no safety testing - so you'd think this would lead to rolling wrecks falling off the road, and crashing into innocent motorists and riders. Seems not.
I've never actually heard of one crash because of this.

Makes you think.

But safety makes sense, and we owe it to ourselves, and others on the road, to make sure our cycles are safe. And thinking of insurance, I'm sure there's a sneaky, and I must say sensible, clause saying that a vehicle must be properly maintained.

So do at least the basics before your first spring ride.
Tires, brakes, fluids. And wear good protection gear. You never know when fate and statistics will cross your path.

I suggest you wear these under your jeans. Invisible and great protection.
www.bohn-armor-pants.com

Winter Lay Up - reduce coverage?

Well the weather this week in N. Cal has been great - high 70's and it's November.

I took the opportunity of a couple of late afternoon rides on my Triumph as it's coming off the for a rebuild and some restoration.

So it was a coincidence that my Insurance renewal came in this week as well!

Otherwise I probably would not have thought about canceling the road risk and liability coverage on this bike on my policy. It's still covered in the garage of course, and the saving will pay for some parts.

Think about this if you have a long term repair coming up.

Roll on the spring!

Check out this neat protection cartoon from ActionStations - it makes you realise that a nice ride can be wrecked in seconds.

Motorcycle Protection and Confidence

This is the latest newsletter from www.Actionstation.com - and has lots of useful and interesting insights.

Take a minute to read.

What Secret does

Motorcycle Safety share with

the Soccer World Cup

and The US Golf Open?

On the face of it you could not imagine three more dissimilar activities.

But there's a vital and elusive common thread:

• Even though Soccer is thinly supported in the USA, it's the world's most followed sport, and currently attracts hundreds of millions of viewers. Some of the performances so far by the fancied teams have been shocking - to the point of disbelief.
  England, France and Germany - all out of form....like they were drugged.
  
• This last weekend I spent getting over jetlag in front of the TV watching the world's best golfers at the US Open at Pebble Beach. On Saturday, there were masterful displays of skill and control, flair and inspiration.
  Come Sunday, it was all different - as if a spell had been cast - there we balls in the ocean, in bunkers and the rough - frustration and near desperation was clear to see.
  
• Then Monday morning, back in the office, an email came through at about 10am that made me see what is so precious, yet so transient about sport and performance.........
  
• This Is Confidence.

Name: JOHN ALBERT
Email: johnalbert@.........

Message: I just want to tell you I am extremely happy with your armored pants. I ride a Road King and most Harley riders are not into protective clothing. I wear them knowing I am protected and no one else knows. I ride more confident and relaxed knowing I am wearing your protective pants.
Thanks for making a great product.

Whether we are a top sportsman or rider, or a novice - if we doubt our abilities or security, our confidence evaporates.

This revealing email reminded me that our products provide physical and vitally important emotional support, which allow us to confidently perform, whether its riding or racing our motorcycles - knowing the protection is there gives us the freedom to relax and enjoy the ride.

Cruiser's Buying Bohn Adventure Pants

And by the way he's right - we are seeing many more Harley and cruiser riders buying the Adventure Pants to wear under their jeans - both male and female. They're basically invisible underneath, cool, and you can switch out the armor to suit your own needs.

They just work!

See them here Bohn Adventure Pants

Riding in the Heat.......Yes you can!

This is the time of year when heat and humidity makes wearing jackets and riding suits really uncomfortable - and we are tempted to ride in a T- shirt for comfort - even though we know we shouldn't! There are alternatives, and we have many solutions - but a great start is the Bohn Bodyguard System, check them out here Bohn Bodyguard System

Motto: Always remember that some protection is always better than no protection!

Winter Riding Hazards

It's been while since my last post, but this recent bad weather has reminded me that riders are even more vulnerable at night, and in rain - specially in urban areas where more people commute by motorcycle.

Here in California lane spliiting is legal and can save hours in the course of a week, and sometimes a day!

A couple of recent news reports of fatal motorcycle crashes have alerted me to the fact that merging on to freeways is specially hazardous for riders - doubly so in wet or dark conditions. Its no consolation if it turns out the car or truck driver was "At Fault'. Regular commuters generally develop cautious approaches, but extreme vigilance is the key to survival.

Its a sad fact of life, that insurance for your motorcycle only fixes some of the financial issues of a wreck - not the pain, discomfort - and sometimes the finality.

So makes sure you're covered properly - for you and any passengers - and
Ride Safe!

Find Useful Motorcycle Insurance Info at
www.Motorcycle-Insurance-Tips.com

Progressive & Lojack

I saw a news item today in the Trade Press that Progressive Insurance and LoJack were teaming up with a joint promotion - 20% off premiums and a $50 rebate for buyers of the system.

Sounds like a good and logical idea, but I'm not sure if it's a country wide program - as I read a couple of weeks ago that motorcycle theft was so widespread in San Diego that police do not even respond to Lojack calls.
And thieves (the professional ones, not joy riders), know where Lojacks and alarms are located and can easily disable them. Most of the bikes quickly find their way over the border to Mexico, and just to make sure the bike is 'clean', they park the stolen bike for a couple of days in a quiet place before making a clean getaway.

I'm not trying to be negative here, bit there's a couple of issues -
1: The country is big and very varied - crime is centred in a few hot spots - inner city and urban areas, and close to Mexican borders.
2: If you live in those areas, you soon know that you have to adopt 'survival' techniques for both your own safety and your property.

Having spent most of my life in the UK, I'm amazed how little crime there is in the US, particularly motorcycle theft - compared to the UK and Europe.

But where it's bad, it's very bad - and if the Bad Guys want your bike they will take it one way or another!

The moral, I guess is to know your territory - good or bad.

Amazon selling motocycle accessories - what next?

I guess it's only a matter of time before the relentless Amazon Machine spreads its tentacles further and embraces Financial Services, and in particular motorcycle insurance.

For sure they have the financial clout to cut strong deals with and established player like Geico and have an Amazon branded product.

There's immense trust with Amazon - both their integrity (they get things done - properly), and their sites just....work! It sounds so simple.

I'm a Prime Member and that's a cool deal that encourages me to buy more and Get It Shipped Free!

So my business signed up recently to list our Bohn protection products in theBohn Factory Sore on Amazon.com.

Here's an example of one of our best selling products.
These items are actually warehouse in Amazons facilities and they ship them out fast!
Check out the listings - I think it's an important pointer of the way things are going.