Stuart’s GoldWing Blog

John Measures, Solicitor, 0800 021 3065 or 0115 931 5167

I came across an interesting internet article  on this subject by John Measures, who is both an enthusiastic biker and a solicitor. Barratts, where he works, is a firm of East Midlands Solicitors who specialise in personal injury claims for motorcyclists.

A biker who was leading a small group of bikes was prosecuted for speeding, as were his riding mates.  They were all caught riding at speeds considerably in excess of the prevailing 60 mph limit, especially the following riders who were riding even faster that the leading bike.  In deciding the sentence to impose on the leading rider the Court took into account that as leader he was setting the pace for the group of bikes and by speeding himself when leading a group he had therefore aggravated his own speeding offence.  On this basis he was given stiffer punishment than he would otherwise have got.

In his Article John Measures considers the implications for other bikers who act as Group Ride Leaders, for both criminal prosecutions and civil liability.

John makes it clear that there is no need to be panicked into refusing to lead rides; ride leaders are not continues………

Good for the motorcycling soul

My first set of confessions about what I have learned by frightening myself riding my GoldWing seems to have pushed viewing figures for this Blog to a new high, over 4,500 unique visits last week which is very gratifying, thank you all.

So it presumably struck a bit of a chord with some of you readers out there, if only to give those of you who don’t suffer any such qualms an opportunity to feel a bit  superior.  The subject may therefore be worth developing a bit more – and my buttocks have, if nothing else, gathered enough experience of motorcycling clenches to provide plenty to write about.

Maybe there are Wingers out there who did all the bike-dropping they needed to do or learned all they need to learn before treating themselves to a GoldWing, but generally speaking there are Wingers who admit to having dropped their bike and Wingers who pretend they have never done so.

So let’s be honest with ourselves; none of us are infallible and if we want to minimise the risk of undignified wobbles and horizontal parking, we need to make sure we understand what can go wrong and how to avoid it.  Then it’s simply a matter of eternal vigilance and sustained concentration when you are riding, as usual!

Having established that there is interest among my Blog Viewers in basic riding skills, or at least in me owning up to failures of skill, I might as well bare my soul by confessing to difficulties I have had with continues………

VIP police motorcyclists get personal bodyguards so they can concentrate on looking cool

CLICK ON ANY PICTURE FOR AN ENLARGED VIEW

Rise Safe Back Safe has been holding an annual free event for bikers for five years and it’s built up to be quite a show and well worth going to.  This year it was in Blackpool again but had moved away from the Promenade to the resort’s huge Central Car Park.  This turned out to be a much better venue, with plenty of space, nicely sheltered from any wind and very easy to get to.

There were lots of biking organisations present and some dealers and traders together with an impressive stunt riding display and Honda’s Your First Licence arena for children which was as popular as always.  Since Ride Safe Back Safe is a Safety Partnership scheme run by the Police there were also lots and lots and lots of motorcycle policemen around, most of whom looked relaxed and smiling, with not a single wagging finger being displayed anywhere.

But from a Wingers viewpoint it was notable this year for the bringing together, for the first time at any Event, of GWOCGB’s Lancs & Lakes Region and GoldWings North West, both of which were displaying continues………

Despite pulling right up to the line and a well trimmed hedge, this driver's view is still obstructed

Many of us will have had a break from riding over the winter and I had a longer break than usual myself this time, thanks to a bit of surgery followed by a lot more snow and ice ( and therefore salt) than usual.  So coming back to riding might involve for some of you, as it always seems to do for me, recovering riding skills which have gone a bit rusty.

Setting off for the first ride never seems to bother me and it feels quite natural to get back on the bike and start riding it again.  So I am perhaps fortunate in rarely suffering any huge crisis of confidence, although it did happen to me one Spring – ironically after passing my Advanced Riding Test the previous November.  I really did have to go back to basics that year and rebuild confidence in my basic handling skills that year.  Mind you I was still riding my GL1200SEi that year and compared to a GL1800 it is a bit of a handful.  Fortunately that sort of major loss of confidence continues………

Leader's Parking Perks!

I would normally write this sort of Article on our Club Website, but why not give the wider readership of this Blog a bit of parochial news occasionally too?

Today GoldWings North West rode out to Sandbach, a self declared “historic” town in Cheshire which owes its recent fame to having given its name to what has been said to be Britain’s very worst Motorway Services.  We were there to take part in their annual Transport Festival, a static display combined with a Parade around the Town.

It’s a type of gathering which happens all over UK, attracting all sorts of proudly-owned vehicles from, in this case, steam rollers through classic cars to motorcycles and ancient push bikes.  At this Event there are no static-only displays; everything must take part in the Parade as a condition of admission.  So thankfully there were none of those chuffing stationary engines you see at some steam events.

After several days of sunshine, and warm temperatures for April too, it had been a surprise to wake up to cold, damp fog and less than 100m continues………

Not as chaotic as it looks!

The four basic accessory circuits which were described in Part 4 of this Series can be adapted to cover most requirements on a GoldWing, so there is little need for more examples of what would be relatively minor variations on these themes.   So this further Article is about integrating accessory circuits when the opportunity arises, to avoid unnecessary duplication when several circuits are being installed.  Likewise to minimise clutter.

It’s also a collection of examples of how I or other people have tackled particular jobs, to illustrate the things that need to be taken into account and that sometimes there is more than one perfectly valid way of going about things.

Lots of accessory circuits inevitably means lots of cables and connections, so that prime locations like under the seat and under the glove boxes can get very busy and crowded.  The first photo shows the numerous continues………

Barry Walton has circulated details of the Appy Wanderers Ride Out which he and Dave are organising for April 18th.

The rendezvous is Wooley Edge Services on the M1 Southbound at 9.30am.

The Route will take in Matlock Bath for a short halt then on to the Blue John Cavern near Castleton, where you will have time for the guided tour.  Castleton is a nice place to stop anyway with plenty of eateries and a decent fish & chip shop too.

Then a scenic way homewards towards Yorkshire via the Woodhead Pass before some back roads (and coming back to earth) in Huddersfield.

All GoldWing riders are welcome, no club membership of any kind required and there is no charge for the services of this pair of experienced Ride Leaders, although you will have to listen to Barry (or pretend to be listening) attentively as usual during the refreshment stops!

GL1800 Fuseboard with an in-line fused connection on the positive Accessory Terminal

In Part 1 of this Series the concept of an accessory electrical circuit was introduced; the idea that electricity flows around a circle from the positive terminal of the battery to the negative one, passing through an accessory or lighting to provide the energy for it to work.

In this Article we develop the idea further, to help you develop a practical grasp of how accessory circuits are created and connected.  We’ll use some examples of individual accessory circuits which are adaptable to various uses and, in the next Article, how they can be combined to form an integrated approach to a safe and reliable accessory wiring system on your GoldWing.

The circuits described in this Article are the building bricks you will need in order to create more and more complex circuits, which will be covered in the next Article in this Series.

Even a simple circuit needs to work reliably and to be safe and that’s essentially what this Article is all about: choosing the correct size of cable, the correct fuse or fuses and where to put them and deciding whether or not you need to use a relay to handle the power involved, as well as a manual operating switch.

In order to work effectively and safely an Accessory Circuit needs:

1. Cable which is thick enough to carry the intended load without overheating.
2. A fuse which is small enough to blow before the cable overheats.
3. An operating switch which can cope reliably with the electrical current it is stopping and starting.
4. And if the operating switch is not big enough to handle the full circuit load itself, you will need to incorporate a relay. continues………

Shall we turn right next then chaps?

The Central Florida Motorcycle Drill Team, who came to Blackpool for the GoldWing Light Parade in 2008 to display for us, are alive and kicking and they are still World Champions too partly, as i recall, because no one has been brave enough to challenge them for a while.

We became friends with the four Team Members who came over to UK in 2008 and have stayed in contact ever since.   My wife and I (and other members of the Light Parade Organising Team) have met up with them whenever we’ve been in Florida on holiday ever since and their Captain, Randy Rodriguez, will be coming back to UK again for this year’s Parade in  September and bringing his wife, Cat, too.  So we look forward to seeing at least two of them in Blackpool again.

Not as a Display Team this time unfortunately and not to give a Display, but at least Randy will be here and continues………

Fully synthetic Oil for £8.49

The Filling Stations at Morrisons Supermarkets are currently offering Havoline Oils in 5 litre containers at half price.

The offer covers fully synthetic, part-synthetic and mineral oils so there is plenty of choice.  The fully synthetic oil (pictured) is only £8.49, part-synthetic is £7.49 and mineral oil is £4.99.

You will need to check which specification of oil your bike or car takes but these are Havoline (i.e. Texaco) Oils and they should be decent stuff.

The synthetic SAE 5W-30 which I bought for my car meets ACEA: A1/B1, API SL/Energy Conserving (whatever they mean) and also Ford WSS-M2C913-B.

Thanks to John Taylor for tipping me off about this bargain, very helpful.  By the way John says he has used fully synthetic oil on his GoldWing and has had no clutch trouble.  (Fully synthetic oil has been said to be unsuitable for motorcycles which have wet clutches because they can cause clutch slip.)

To locate your nearest Morrisions Store visit their website by Clicking Here.  The search facility includes an option to check that the Store has a Filling Station; these Havoline Oils are on sale on in the Filling Station Kiosks.