Maxair Engineering Blog

When it comes to your safety on the roadways, one of the best tools at your disposal is something I call “sensory display” or “the peacock effect”

Lighting, both day and night can be one of the more useful tools in your bag of tricks designed to get other driver’s attention . Statistical data shows that most car verses bike collisions occur because the driver of the car, never saw the bike that they collided with.

The most deadly of collisions between bikes and cars, occur when the car is making a left hand turn in front of an oncoming bike.

The good news is that your brightest lighting is pointed in that direction! Many State’s require late model motorcycles to drive headlights on all the time, day or night. In fact this law is so ubiquitous that bikes start coming without a headlight “on/off” switch long ago. At Maxair we ride with high beams on during the day to increase this degree of safety. You can also increase the wattage of the bulb -but be careful here because I have melted a headlight plug and fuse relay doing this in the past. Better to wire a fused heavy gauge feed directly from the battery with a switch relay, if you are going to increase your headlights wattage significantly.

Another option is a headlight modulator but they are not legal in all States. This automatically pulses your light higher & lower during the daytime but with a light sensor reverting back to non-modulated mode at night. Unfortunately my personal feeling is that they do not do much. That said, a lot of people swear by them and there is some statistical data to support this….I doubt it can hurt.

Driving lights, in my opinion are one of the best options available for front lighting. Aside from doubling or tripling the amount of light you are projecting, they also scream ” I’m a bike” at distance, instead of perhaps a car missing a headlight. I strongly recommend running a separate power circuit with a relay for these too set up so you can run them with both high and low beams. If your charging system will support it (and most modern bikes will) high beams and driving lights on make a powerful and dominating life saving presence during the day while at night the additional light will be a welcome change. In some places Johnny law might hassle you so always have the “oops I must have switched to high beam by accident ” excuse ready and act surprised.

Ok now for the rear of your vehicle. Here I recommend converting to LEDs lights whenever possible. This will take some pressure off your electrical system and brighten things up at the same time. LEDs are purported to last the lifetime of the vehicle. The next thing I strongly recommend is one of the many modules on the market that convert your directionals to running lights and additional brake lights. They still function as directionals but are a blast of extra light when you stomp on the brake. I also advise the type of module that flashes all the rear lights in fast succession for a few cycles during breaking. A real attention grabber! I routinely sit at stop lights activating this flashing light show by releasing and engage my brake until all vehicles behind me has stopped.

As for the side of your bike there are not a ton of options. There are some directionals out there like mine, that show light on the side of the directional to let someone in your blind spot know you are turning. These really only work at night. During the day hand signals are recommended along with directionals,

The marketplace also has produced some new innovations with the advent of the LEDs allowing for extended small battery life i.e. AA AAA and so on. One such device attaches to your helmet and senses that you have applied your brake lighting up to create an eye level auxiliary brake light. Fantastic idea and well worth looking into. You can never have too much light in my opinion.

Finally I’ll mention carrying a Tactical flashlight esp. at night. Get a bright one with a strobe function. This is one of the best devices you can have should you need to make an emergency stop on the side of the road day or night. Here is one such story from my blog http://www.maxairengineering.com/blog/?p=60  I set mine on the white line facing rearward but in front of my bike so mine don’t forget it. Also check out the tactical lights at our friends at www.TacticalResponse.com tell them Maxair sent you.

Max

“Loud Pipes Save Lives!!” Well, at least that is the battle cry. Is it true? Well, apparently that is the question. Some argue that in fact loud pipes do saves lives, while others say they have no effect. One side argues from the experience of having ridden both types of bikes, quiet and loud. Others erroneously draw conclusions from the Hurt Report.

Conducted by Harry Hurt, The Hurt Report is the most comprehensive study of motorcycle accidents ever conducted in the US. The data is sound, despite the fact that it is seriously dated and often misinterpreted.

On this issue, I myself find myself once again between the Hatfield’s and McCoy’s. Nothing gets my blood  pumping faster than the sound of Rolling Thunder going down the highway. (Well perhaps with the exception of a certain blond that comes to mind). It is a primal and visceral call of the beating drums in the jungle. That said, I find the needless roaring of exhaust and the abuse of residential neighborhoods, as repulsive as my neighbor’s dog that barks at all hours.

Back to the Hurt Report. As far as I can tell, the Hurt Report  makes one claim with regards to loud motorcycle exhausts: “Motorcycles with loud exhausts are over represented in the study”. That is to say, that many of the accidents studied, involved bikes with loud pipes. From this very limited and dated empirical data, the conclusion is often drawn that that loud exhaust have no positive effect in the avoidance of an accident. I have seen very well educated magazine writers, actually purport this hypothesis as fact. Anyone with a high school class in statistical analysis knows better than to draw such linear conclusions from statistical data.

It could simply mean that more bikes on the roadways at the time of the study had loud exhausts. Or perhaps people who tend to ride will loud exhausts drive more aggressively ….or passively. Both of which can cause an accident. There is simply no way in my opinion, to really know from this type of data. But yet the quiet pipe crowd continue to use this flawed example to boost their argument. These are the same people who want your headlight on and you to wear a florescent vest to increase your visibility or sensory display.

I had to break it to the Hatfield’s but sound does involve a sense. In my opinion anything that increases your sensory display, is an asset in combating the complacent, distracted and hurried modern commuter. Never mind animals which in my opinion are the most dangerous and unpredictable.

The McCoy’s on the other hand some how translate “loud pipes save lives” to “we need to make your ears bleed and wake you from a sound sleep at every opportunity”. The ultimate napoleon complex. I find this equally if not more disturbing. Despite the augments from the Hatfield’s what they are really saying is ” hey give us a break here”. So often we debate an issue on some ridiculous premise when the real credible argument is quite simple. The public deserves some peace and quiet. We want to raise a bit of ruckus and not be killed on the roadway.

So what’s the answer you ask. As with many of society’s woes, the answer is found in compromise. Soon enough the long arm of the law will start enforcing existing sound laws so the McCoy’s better start policing themselves. As for the Hatfield’s, I have seen more than one non-riding citizen get a thrill out of a bike with a good rumble to it as it passes by.. There also seems to be an American genetic code wrapped up in the iconic biker image, that says that there are still a few cowboys roaming around out there. They want some peace and quiet but somehow I get the feeling that they also are comforted by our existence. Though they may only choose to experience this freedom vicariously, they too feel the call of the drums and take pleasure in know that they are a key turn away from that experience.

In the end the best remedy is not laws but common sense and compromise. Lets take it upon ourselves to have more respect for others when choosing an exhaust. Rather than ear destroying straight pipes lets settle for something with sound but that you can keep quiet when needed.

Max

The Death Zone? Sorry, I know that sounds harsh. Those of us who rock and mountain climb, are familiar with the term “Coffin Zone”. This is commonly known as any time you are 50 feet off the ground. A fall from that height or higher will most likely be fatal.

The are many parallels between climbing and riding when it comes to safety. Not least of which, is the burden of responsibility for ones own well being. Like it or not, Your survival falls to you as the biker. “It was the other guy’s fault” does not do much for you when they are reading your eulogy. Treat any potential accident like it is your fault, and you’ll live a  much longer life.

The harsh reality, is that intersections are the “Death Zone” for us on two wheels. Studies have shown that a hefty percentage of car verses motorcycle accidents, happen at intersections. The major cause? The other driver simply did not see the motorcyclist. Commonly “the other guy”  makes a left turn and crosses the path of and oncoming bike, causing head-on or a T-bone accident.  So it is YOUR responsibly to be seen, if you want to live to see another day.

There are many tactics for safety while entering an intersection. Here are a few of mine.

First, always ride with your headlight on. I recommend  using your high beam during the day. This is a major weapon towards getting a driver’s attention.

Unlike some recommendations I have seen , I recommend  that when entering a multi lane intersection,  you do so in the lane closet to the yellow line. This has two benefits: first you take the “right on red” guy out of the equation. Second this enables you to get a clear shot of your headlight beam on that guy waiting to take that left turn. Your focus is on him. Get and keep his attention. Get nervous? Use your horn.

One of the most important tools, is your own acknowledgment that you are entering the “Death Zone”. This mindfulness and sense of awareness is your best ally. Setting yourself up before the intersection is also key . Use hand signals always. Get that guy off your butt, before you enter the intersection. A gentle “slow down” hand signal will help here. If you must stop quick, raise your hand all the way up then drop it down again making the slow down hand signal by moving your hand in an up in down motion towards the ground. Make sure that your saddle bags are not blocking the view of your hand signal.

When entering the intersection, try to use a car on your right side as a shield. A car is much less likely to cross in front of another car or truck. Simple primal instincts are in play here. A bike is simply not much of a visceral threat to the driver of a car. While entering the intersection get that headlight beam on the guy waiting to turn in front of you. Sit up straight and be aware. You are “running with the bulls” here. It is up to you to keep the clear of the bulls and at the very least keep their attention.

Finally if you do enter an intersection in the right lane  be careful of ” the Hook”. The hook is when the guy waiting to make that left turn hooks directly behind the car in the left lane to slip through traffic. The problem is that if you are slightly behind the car to your left, he will take you out, having never seen you. Try to keep that blocker car directly beside you and watch for the right on red car.

If you have an accident, there is a good chance it will happen in the Death Zone. Intersections are a powerful convergence of steel and mass with humans on their individual speedway through time and space. It is up to you to make sure the distracted stressed out drivers see you and yield. If they do not, the price paid is ultimately yours. Would you climb a several thousand foot cliff face, without taking your personal safety into your own hands. Not unless your looking to cash in that life insurance policy.

Lee Sutherburg AKA Mad Max

President

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