> michael brown wrote:
>
> > On the motorcycle thing, I would like to take this opportunity to make
> > everyone aware that motorcycles can NOT stop quicker than cars.  This is
a
> > common misnomer that has resulted in the death of many cyclists.
PLEASE,
> > the next time you change lanes please turn your head and look first.
Fully
> > 95% of my "close calls" have been a result of this.  Of course when they
> > finally see you, they nearly always wave and say sorry.  This is a prime
> > example of where being "sorry" doesn't help.
> >
> > BTW the other day I was nearly run over by a police car (with no lights
or
> > siren) that was busy running a red light that had been red the entire
time
> > he was approaching it.  Fortunately, I have learned to not trust anyone
in a
> > car that isn't looking me directly in the eye.  Next time you see/hear a
> > Harley with loud exhaust, remember he is just trying to stay alive, not
> > annoy/scare you.  Loud pipes allow you to become semi-transparent as
opposed
> > to the normal complete invisibility that a motorcycle achieves when
riding
> > in traffic.
>
> As a Piclister and a motorcyclist (7 motorcycles in the garage, and I've
> been a Motorcycle Safety Instructor for 6 years), I feel obliged to
> respond.  Loud pipes are not an effective safety device- unfortunately,
> most of the "loud" goes *behind* the motorcycle, doing little to wake up
> the semi-consious lane changer.

I didn't mean to imply that they were "the" solution to motorcycle safety.
But I must say that they are one more way to increase the awareness of other
motorists.  And, I was only offering an explanation for the reasoning behind
why allot (not all) of cyclests increase the loudness of their pipes.
Fortunately, the sound can be redirected towards the side with turn-outs or
"slash cut" pipes.  Every little thing that you can do to increase awareness
is to the cyclists benefit.  Whether it be modulated headlights, loud pipes,
or strobing brakelights.

>The biggest effect that loud exhausts
> are having is to inspire community rules and legislation to ban
> motorcycles, which, in my view, is a net loss for motorcycling as a
> whole.

While I won't disagree with this, I must say that the media and hollywood
have done more to inspire this kind of behavior from the public and local
communities than loud pipes have.  This is certainly not the intent of most
motorcyclists.

>I've found that simple things like actively avoiding the blind
> spots of other motorists to be a far more effective safety technique.

This is absolutely correct, and would probably be sufficient if people
actually looked in their mirrors before changing lanes.   Also not ever
riding next to or behind semi-truck tires is a good idea.  If they peel on
you, or blow out, you could be in world of hurt.

> With the proper technique and practice, on good clean pavement, a
> motorcycle *can* stop faster than most cars.  Many motorcycles today
> have twin discs on the front wheel, and very sticky tires.

While this may be "strictly" true, not everyone has dual front discs,
optimal tires and road conditions or the required training and experience to
accomplish that.  As you know, the slightest amount of water or oil deposits
on pavement can have a marked effect on stopping ability spefically, and
traction in general.  Also, probably 1/2 of the people you see riding a
motorcycle have less than 5000 miles worth of street riding experience.

> All the
> elements above don't necessarily happen at the same time- so avoidance
> is the best technique to minimize risk.

I can't disagree with this entirely, although in Houston it's pretty darned
hard to avoid being near other traffic.

> Back to the headlight modulating- on-off cycles do decrease the lifetime
> of a bulb, but  that is with a cold filament.  Modulating a headlight at
> 4Hz is slow enough so that the modulation can be seen, but fast enough
> so that the filament does not fully cool down.  Try this experiment- at
> night, turn your headlights on and point them at a close wall.  Turn
> them off- I've found that it takes at least 2 seconds for the bulbs to
> stop putting out light.  The very bright, white light stops almost
> immediately, but it keeps on putting out light for some time, decreasing
> in intensity and moving to red before it fades out completely.
>
> Matt Bennett
>
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>

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