Hit the jump and check it out for yourself.

Haley, does make one good point about having oncoming cars blind you as they pass, he also mentions in the article that he uses the unit like you would a side or rear-view mirror.

The display allows you to see the lines of the road without having to look at the car and blinding you

The unit will be priced under $2,000 (that usually means $1,999).  I have way too many questions and concerns about this concept but I guess its too early to judge…

Source

An extraordinary behind-the-scenes look at the remarkable new technologies being used to avoid motorcycle crashes, and prevent injuries or even death when a racer or rider does go down.

Hit the jump to watch the preview.

Harley-Davidson was kind enough to post on Twitter a PDF of a list of things to bring with you on a long motorcycle trip.

And what a list!

It’s hard to believe you could squeeze all this stuff onto yourself and your bike.

A few interesting things in the list are:

• Duct tape
• Emergency Blanket
• Small towel
• Cargo net
• Replacement fuses
• Change of shoes
• Tool kit

I guess Harley is expecting a very long ride!  Seems like you would be ready for anything with the long list they’ve provided.

Check out the rest of the article for an image to glance at, a PDF to save on your desktop, and the full list in plain text to copy and paste into an email to send to a buddy.  Thanks to Harley-Davidson for the list!

If you are planning a long trip, bone-up on your motorcycle safety and training over at Motorcycle.com’s Rider Training and Safety section.

Click here to download the PDF to save!

Here’s the full textual list to quickly copy and paste to someone:

Clothing:

• DOT-approved Helmet
• Rain jacket and pants
• Rain gloves
• Summer gloves
• Winter gloves
• Balaclava
• T-shirts
• Socks and underwear
• Synthetic long underwear
• Long-sleeved shirts
• Turtleneck shirts
• Extra jeans
• Light jacket
• Leather pants/chaps
• Riding boots
• Bandanas
• Sunglasses
• Goggles/night time eye protection
• Change of shoes

Bike Maintenance:

• Tool kit
• Replacement fuses
• H-D SYN3 lubricant
• Paper funnel
• Multi-purpose spray lubricant
• Motorcycle jumper cables
• Tire pressure gauge

Personal Items:

• Basic toiletries
• Emergency cash
• Coins for tolls
• Sunscreen
• Earplugs

Miscellaneous:

• Road maps
• Bike registration and insurance info
• Motorcycle owners or service manual
• Motorcycle warranty card
• Camera
• Cargo net
• Bungee cords
• Swiss-style pocketknife or multi-tool
• Tote sack
• 2-3 large trash bags
• Extra zipper-lock bags

EMERGENCY ITEMS

• Personal first-aid kit
• Emergency contact number (include doctor/medical professional)
• List of medical conditions (include allergies)
• List of current medications
• Flashlight
• Spare key
• Emergency blanket
• Cellular phone and charger
• Duct tape

Source [ Harley-Davidson on Twitter ]

Love Batman?  I mean, REALLY love batman?  Love Batman enough that you dress up like him even when it’s not Halloween?

Hey, me too!  Now you can look like Batman even while riding your motorcycle and be fully protected from the elements (and maybe falls).

It was going to happen sooner or later.  With Batman’s latest movie, The Dark Knight, featuring Batman on his Bat-cycle (or “Batpod”), you knew there had to be some motorcycle-batman crossover paraphernalia.  Actually I’m quite shocked this wasn’t out sooner.

Universal Designs are making officially licensed Batman: The Dark Knight motorcycle jackets, pants, gloves and boots that replicate what Bruce Wayne wore while chasing down that pesky Joker.  And it looks to be the real deal, with removable CE approved armor in the jacket and pants so it’s not just some fancy costume!

There’s no indication of price or when these products will actually come out.  Hopefully I can convince the editors at Motorcycle.com to try them out (mainly just to try and embarrass them).

Check out the rest of the post for features and a pic of the whole outfit.  I’m not sure about those wrist-blade thingys.  Seems like they would poke an eye out!

Batman: The Dark Knight Motorcycle Gear Features:

- Strong Cordura Mesh Base with Heavy-duty 4 way stretch Spandex inserts.
- Removable CE Approved Body Armor in both Jacket and Pants
- Highly detailed, removable lightweight interior lining.
- Form Molded Leather and Kevlar Armor Sectons.
- Made from Quality Tanned Cow Hides

Source: [ Geekologie.com ]

The world is getting more and more paranoid about safety for children.  Sure, this can be a good thing in some aspects but in others it’s just ridiculous.

In America, the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act became a law which allowed congress to ban products that could be harmful due to traces of lead found in them.  Sounds like a good idea on paper but it seems that this could be doing more harm than good.

Youth motorcycles and ATVs may contain a small amount of lead in some parts of these vehicles such as the alloy used to connect AZ batteries terminals.  Because of this, the CPSIA can ban all of these recreational vehicles from children. The Motorcycle Industry Council claims that this amount of lead and the way it might ever interact with a child (ie: not swallowing it) would never cause any harm.

Banning toys with lead in them was to make sure that if a child happens to put a toy car (for example) in their mouth, they wouldn’t get lead poisoning from such an innocent act (we’ve all put toy cars in our mouths at some point as kids!).

Motorsport can be and is a family sport.  I remember going to a motocross show as a kid with my friends and family, marveling at the high-flying dirt bikes.  Most, if not all of the professionals out there on bikes probably got their inspiration under the same scenario.  They saw those amazing feats and exciting races and had to get on a bike.

And they did, and at a very young age.

With the ban of these recreational vehicles catered to kids, where will the new batch of racers come from?  Can the sport even survive without giving young enthusiasts a chance to try it out?  Will youth riders start riding adult sized vehicles and be in even more danger?

My real question is: Does the tiny amount of lead found in the alloy in some small bits of metal (that will never get ingested) even matter when kids are now using cell phones, staying indoors to play video games, sitting at computers all day, eating junk food and doing tons of other things that can do more harm than good?  Would denying them the fun, excitement, experience and even the education of riding be better when the alternative might be picking up a video game controller instead?

Could the industry avoid this whole ordeal by improving and developing parts to not include that lead?

What do you think about the ban of youth motorcycles and ATVs?

The Motorcycle Industry Council (MIC) is out to stop the ban and by golly they are giving it their best shot!

See the rest of the post for a few videos about the ban.  Head over to MIC to sign a petition and read up on their cause.  Follow them on twitter to stay up to date (we have!)

We cannot put anything over the turban, it is against our religion.  Mr. Badesha said outside court.

British Columbia and Manitoba, are two provinces in Canada that do allow devout Sikh’s to be exempt from their helmet laws, Badesha along with his supporters vow to lobby the government for the same treatment.  Justice James Blacklock, who ruled on the case, said that Ontario is not compelled to follow suit with the other provinces.  Blacklock, also wrote that the province has a “legitimate state interest” in avoiding the “extra significant expense” associated with motorcycle accidents under the Ontario Health Insurance Plan.

There is a clear increase in the risk of devastating brain injury or death with the accompanying burdens on family members and the public in terms of medical needs.  Ontario Superior Court Justice James Blacklock ruled.

Mr. Badesha has one month to pay the fine but he does have the option to appeal the decision and will make that decision “very quickly”, his lawyer said.

Source

The provincial auto insurance board known as the Société de l’assurance automobile du Québec (SAAQ) is proposing a list of new rules that is sure to be unpopular for riders and manufacturers alike. The proposed regulation states that people under the age of 25 and anyone with less than five years of motorcycle riding experience would not be permitted to own or insure motorcycles deemed to be ‘high-risk’ by the board. In an attempt to allegedly reduce accidents involving inexperienced riders, SAAQ indicates that the system would place strict rules ownership.

SAAQ claims that younger riders, more specifically those on ‘high-risk’ motorcycles, represent a large percentage of the bike-related accidents in the province. While many people feel that government regulation should protect the safety of those who don’t have the common sense to protect themselves, Social Darwinism has been cleansing the gene pool since time began. This is a highly stringent and strong-handed manoeuvre that may do more harm than good.

What do you think?

Source

J.D. Power and Associates who do independent and unbiased surveys and polls have gathered information on customer satisfaction of motorcycle helmets.

The study measures the overall satisfaction of motorcyclists with their new helmet in three key factors: ventilation, face shield, and design and styling; which consist of 11 attributes: quietness; ventilation/air flow; de-fogging; face shield ability to keep wind out; face shield ability to resist scratching; ease of replacing face shield; scratch resistance of shell; color/graphic design; weight; ease of fastening the strap; and fit and comfort.

Interesting.  This is an excellent buying tip for those of you who need new helmets.  So who won?

Arai pulled ahead scoring 830 points on a 1,000 point scale (that’s a lot of points).

If you are shopping for a helmet, we recommend picking up a full face helmet as it can protect your pretty smile from flying debris on the road.  Also note that in a crash a helmet improves your chance of survival by 37% so WEAR ONE!

Head to Motorcycle.com’s Motorcycle Rider Safety and Training section for more tips.

Updated:  Re-ordered for awesomeness!

See the full article for the top 5 ranked helmets from J.D. Power and Associates along with some pics.

1. Arai Helmets

2. Shoei Helmets

3. Icon Helmets

4. Harley-Davidson Helmets

5. Scorpion Helmets

For some safety tips, head to Motorcycle.com’s Motorcycle Rider Satefy and Training section.