Bikes

So my quest for two wheeled excitement is continuing but is mostly confined to exploring the internet for laws, tips, suitable bikes and things like that because a major lack of money (and a car that loves to be the centre of my attention and in my wallet) stops me when it comes to actually doing something in real life. But you know what they say, a prepared person is a winner… eventually.

The first thing I’ve been looking at is helmets, I have always been of the understanding anything except normal lids or full face ones that can clip open are pretty much illegal over here in the UK. This was a bad thing as far as I was concerned because even though it is safety and blah blah, it is a stone cold fact that you look cooler in a small open face helmet. I mean honestly would this man have looked so damn cool on a bike if he had a full face helmet on? No!

However when looking around at potential ‘head to concrete protection methods’ I noticed loads of really awesome retro looking lids and I realised I had majorly overlooked this whole helmet law thing and took too many ‘facts’ from blokes down the pub or “a mate of a mate of a mate said this once because he got stopped by the police for wearing one”. So it is off for some looking around and eventually you find out that for a helmet to be legal to use in the UK it needs to have an EC approval mark on it which meets EC Regulation 22 type 05. Score! (For reference, it says about it here and here with the second link also having a link to the official documentation).

So I look around and see that the most common open face helmet that seems to be mentions and loved by everyone is the Bell Jet R-T. Hmm looks familiar, I wonder who else used to wear one…

Oh look it’s that Steve McQueen guy again!

Easily the best thing about that helmet though, is you can buy bubble visors for them! ULTIMATE COOL!

Now I have the helmet sorted apparently jeans, vans slip ons and a white beater aren’t satisfactory riding clothes so I need to buy some proper biker clothing and it would seem like a sensible idea even if my wallet and sense of style actively fight against it. Motorbike accidents account for 20% of all road fatalities even though bikers only account for 1% of road users, that is a pretty scary fact when you really think about it!

My biggest hate is boots, I just simply cannot get on with them of any type and I’d also like something I could wear around town so I don’t have to change shoes every time I park up. The closest I have found to anything resembling a cool shoe is the Alpinestars Shibuya, which has all the basic protection you need on a bike including toe, ankle and heel protection with the added bonus of looking like a half decent high top trainer! Gloves wise I really like the look of the Alpinestars Mustang glove but at around £65 it is pretty expensive. It is also more of a summer glove and I’d probably need something a bit more substantial for the cold 11 months we get here in Britain…

That really only leaves me with a jacket and this is were I get completely stuck. I can’t afford the mega money leather jackets go for and most others look completely rubbish – anyone got any good ideas? Tell me in the comments!

Now though we get down to the good bit – looking for an actual bike! What I will probably do is buy a cheap 125 and ride it on a CBT for a year or so to get some riding experience and that allows me to save up for the full bike test and gives me time to buy a big bike and start making it into something good when I’m ready to ride it. However I don’t like the idea of buying a bike just to use for a year and then selling it on, I know I won’t be able to sell it on, I become rather attached to things so I want something I wouldn’t be ashamed to carry on riding when I have a full bike test.

Enter the Suzuki Vanvan RV125. Unlike most other small 125′s that try to be exact miniatures of ‘real’ bikes the Vanvan is a very cool sand and mud lover that would definitely be used as a cheap get to work bike even when off the L plates and it would have the added benefit of being able to take me on adventures to places where the roads have stopped (something the hardtail bobber I have built in my mind would definitely not be able to do!) and if I drop it greenlaning or get it caked in sand when messing about at a beach, it wont bother me because it is cheap and very easy to fix.

So what does a Vanvan look like I hear you ask? Well it looks like this in standard form.

Not a bad looking bike, I think you will agree, obviously things like the exhaust, rear luggage rack, fenders and huge mirrors would be getting ripped off or replaced but other than that it is an awesome start and that fat rear tyre looks ace.

Don’t believe me? Well why not take a look at how the Japanese have been modding them

There are loads more as well but obviously I can’t put them all up. The Vanvan forums have loads of galleries to look at but the only problem is you need to be registered to look at them, it is worth it though I promise!

I have been obsessing over bikes recently with the thought of a bit of sun and I thought what better way to do it than to collect a few of the pictures I have posted on the LLE Tumblr and put them all in a pic dump here! Click the pictures to go back to each individual post if you want to find credits or more info (where there is any).

Searching for some bike related things earlier I came across a post on Access Legal about motorbike accidents and common injuries and thought it was a pretty interesting read. Seeming as though I do have a bikes category and I imagine a lot of people reading will probably be interested in it as well, plus I seem to severely neglect bikes so I will try and rectify that by doing some more bike bits soon!

Obviously the main bad thing about motorbikes is the fact that they can be pretty dangerous compared to other forms of transport but what do you reckon are the most common injuries sustained in a bike accident? This is what Access Legal say about some of the more common motorbike accidents:

Fractures

This is a fairly obvious one and the type of injury you would probably expect if you came off your bike, interestingly they say leg fractures are more common than arms.

Road Rash

The reason I get very worried every time I see somebody in just shorts and a t shirt on a bike!

Spinal Cord Injury

A very serious type of injury that can lead to paralysis, always a good idea to get a jacket that has armour in the back.

Emotional Trauma

This is something that a lot of people probably overlook but a lot of riders will never get back on a bike after a crash due to a loss of confidence or travel anxiety.

Traumatic Brain Injury

The reason for a good quality helmets and one of the scariest injuries you can suffer on a bike.

Of course they go into a lot more detailed about each type of injury and have a few more on their site but that is all I will say for now. Remember to stay safe and have fun, there is nothing like the thrill of a bike but stay within your limits and road laws.

Have a picture of a biker doing something silly from Bolts Action