Laws requiring all motorcyclists to wear a helmet are in place in 20 states and the District of Columbia Laws requiring only some motorcyclists to wear a helmet are in place in 27 states There is no motorcycle helmet use law in 3 states (Illinois, Iowa, and New Hampshire) The history of motorcycle helmet laws in the United States is characterized by change. In 1967, to increase motorcycle helmet use, the federal government required the states to enact helmet use laws in order to qualify for certain federal safety programs and highway construction funds. The federal incentive worked. By the early 1970s, almost all the states had universal motorcycle helmet laws. Michigan was the first state to repeal its law in 1968, beginning a pattern of repeal, reenactment, and amendment of motorcycle helmet laws. In 1976, states successfully lobbied Congress to stop the Department of Transportation from assessing financial penalties on states without helmet laws. More Informati ...

Been out riding for a while now? Mid-summer, the National BK Convention is over, several Conferences have finished their annual meetings but there are some fall conference get-togethers still to go. You feel like you now have SAFETY well under your belt for the year? Don’t think SAFETY is a concern now with your riding shape all under control?  Hmmmm how about these things: STEEL BRIDGE GRATINGS & RAIN GROOVES = these can be unnerving to some. But you have the correct things down – right? You – Don’t grip the handlebars TOO TIGHT. If there is a vibration in the handlebars you DO NOT fight it. You know this is a natural feedback from your tires going over those thousands of little steel squares.  You know the same about highway RAIN GROOVES. You know the purpose of those rain grooves is NOT some anti-cycling DOT ogre trying to knock you down, but instead it’s the DOT trying to keep traction for cars and trucks when it rains. You know it is ...

It's summertime. Hoter'n heck in many places.

When you put your bike away for the winter you should try and make sure that both wheels are on a piece of rug or rubber mat.  This will prevent you from developing a flat spot on the tire over the winter.  Actually I have it set up in my garage so that every night when I pull in both my wheels end up on a mat for the night.   Hope to see everyone on Friday at the Christmas Party. (Don't forget your DUES!!!)    Ride with Pride   Ken Penza VP/SO BKRI 1  "BFL"

With the colder months upon us just a couple of reminders: 1. You should always check your tire pressure but especially as the weather gets colder. Your tire pressure can drop drastically when you have a day that starts off in the 60’s let’s say and it is in the 30’s by the time you get home. 2. Remember that even if we’ve had a couple of dry days that the leaves on the ground may have retained moisture and that they can be just as slippery as ice. I would also ask that if you have any special concerns or suggestions to keep us all safe on the rides that you e-mail me. Remember the only stupid question is the one that we don’t ask!!! *****Finally I have noticed a dangerous trend, with more and more of us having CB radios. We are getting away from giving hand or foot signals for road hazards when we are on the rides. We are radioing the hazards. (Here’s a little lesson in accident reconstruction). The average human reaction time is 1.66 se ...