The Institute of Advanced Motorists has released results of a study that shows crash barriers might be responsible for one out of six bike deaths on average. The study also shows that the injuries sustained by a motorcyclist upon hitting a crash barrier are five times the average biker injuries.

This is perhaps because of the fact that crash barriers are primarily meant for people in cars without taking bikers into consideration. Subsequently, the IAM is now pushing for motorcycle-friendly barriers, which are said to cut the fatalities by half when implemented.

“Although riders should take responsibility for their own safety, our road authorities must now ‘Think Bike’ and design crash barriers that give riders protection against the aggressive features that cause devastating injuries,” said Neil Greig, IAM’s Director for Research and Policy.

These results are part of the report made by the IAM and the European Road Assessment Program (EuroRAP). Dr. Joanne Hill, European Programme Director for EuroRAP, said: “The commitment by governments across Europe is needed to fund these high return safety programmes.”

Source: MotorTorque

Beware of what you post online. Oftentimes it will eventually bite you in the ass. Just take a look at this guy who posted videos of himself on YouTube performing ridiculous bike stunts and zooming his bike to speeds of as much as 130 mph. He got jailed after “inadvertently” providing evidence against himself.

The guy, Sandor Ferenci, a 28-yearl old bike rider in Oxfordshire, England was approached by police after some goody-two-shoed citizen saw him speeding in his big bike and noted his license plate. And what a dolt this guy is, dropping the dime on himself by asking the police whether they’ve seen his YouTube video. Police searched the Internet and found his vid.

Ferenci was sentenced to 12 weeks of jail time after pleading guilty to two counts of dangerous driving. YouTube’s really a nice way to get yourself jailed.

Source: CNN

The price of oil has relented a bit and some people are now back driving their cars. Just a few months ago, motorcycles enjoyed a big boost in sales world wide especially since smaller cylinder mopeds and scooters boast of 50-60+ mpg ratings. Quite ideal for those individuals looking for ways to get around.

However, today, Japan’s bike makers Honda and Yamaha are said to cut domestic production of medium and large motorcycles. According to Nikkei business daily, Honda aims to cut production by 10% and Yamaha, by as much as 20%.

Despite the still better fuel-ratings (compared to cars), demand bikes with engines larger than 250cc are down. The big portion of the market made up by the United States and Europe and Americans and Europeans haven’t really looked into buying big bikes in a while. They account for 60% of the global market.

The production cuts would amount to 400,000 units for Honda and some 350,000-360,000 for Yamaha.

Sportbike enthusiasts have got more reasons to smile this year as Yamaha unveils two of its biggest offerings this year. First, is the feature-packed entry-level sport bike – the 2009 FZ6R (pictured bottom) – which they are expecting to redefine the entry-level sportbike. The other is the range-topping R6 (pictured top).

The 2009 FZ6R packs a 4-cylinder 600cc fuel-injected engine that produces a lot of torque making it pack just a bit more punch for an entry-level sportbike. This then, combined with a low seat height and handlebars, makes it ideal for those who are new to bike riding.

The FZ6R will be made available in Yamaha dealerships by January of next year and would have an MSRP of $6,990. It will also come with different colors (Team Yamaha Blue/White, Pearl White, Cadmium Yellow and Raven).

As for the R6, Yamaha is only indicating remapped YCC-T settings for the ECU as its tweak for the updated version. Built for experienced riders, the R6 packs as much power as a standard four-door family sedan (105 hp).

Source: Yamaha

Talk about “As Seen on TV” technologies. Well, the site and the advertising copy sure makes this look like one of those things you can buy off from past-midnight TV through the phone and a credit card. But come to think of it, this is the sort of technology that just might work.

Adorg Safety Technologies features the SAM-HCS (Side Angle Motorcycle Helmet Camera System) – a helmet camera system that displays the rear blindspots on the rider’s visor or the motorcycle’s windscreen. This is all in the effort of providing safety features for the growing population of motorcycle riders.

The cameras are mounted at the sides of your helmet and the signal is relayed to solar-powered LCD screens that can either be mounted on the visor or on the windscreen at your convenience. Will this work? Well, as far as my experience with some bike riders on the road is that they absolutely suck at considering blind spots (well, turning one’s head at cruising speed can be a dumber thing to do) when changing lanes (which some of them do a lot). Never mind if a car is comfortable cruising at 60 mph in said lane. So maybe, just maybe, this would help prevent motorcycle accidents. Blind spot cams are available on cars so why not on bikes, right?

It’s a $299 technology so it’s quite an investment. So it all boils down whether this functionality is worth it or not.

The rumor checked out to be true. Legendary American motorcycle company Harley-Davidson adds some European flavor to its lineup by buying out Italian motorcycle designer and maker MV Augusta (famous for making sport bikes, like the one Bruce Wayne rode in The Dark Knight).

MV Augusta has been in trouble mostly due to debts from both banks and suppliers. With the purchase price of $109M, Harley takes full control over MV Augusta. $70M is set to go to debt payments.

This purchase puts Harley in a very good position to diversify their offerings from huge road hogs to cutting edge sport bikes. This also gives them the advantage of securing a better foothold in the European and world market where sportbikes are much more in demand.

Let’s face it, when it comes to exquisite designs, the Italians have it down to art. Even with the purchase, MV Augusta will still be operating in Italy.

Source: MSN

Hey, remember that time when the Philippine president got medieval on smuggled luxury cars. Now it’s the Chinese government’s turn to do some motoring damage.

14,227 confiscated motorcycles were crushed by bulldozers in Shenzen City in Guangdong province as part of the bike ban. And that’s not the only time when they wrecked thousands of cycles. They’ve been wrecking them as part of a no-motorcycle drive since bikes, apparently, have always been associated to gangs and petty theft. Ever since 2003, 580,000 motorcycles have been crushed.

Somehow reminds me of that scene in Full Metal Jacket though that one was in Vietnam but yeah, robbers on bikes nonetheless. According to statistics, thievery from bikes went down 58.32% because of the ban.

Source: Dan Wei

Well, I guess we can’t deny the draw of two wheels nowadays. I’m a hard core driver of four wheels and have not yet considered shifting to two wheels. For some reason, I am not too confident with motorcycles’ safety records. Still, that is not stopping people from ditching cars in favor of scooters.

While it’s good news that gas prices have dropped a bit recently, the long-term forecasts aren’t looking too great. And motorists are absorbing the whole punishment. Ditching their guzzlers for some four-wheel sippers are tricky business. With the depreciation of SUVs and light trucks, the loss might not be commensurate to the long-term expenses put on by gas prices.

A big winner in this situation is the motorcycle industry. In the US, sales are up by a whopping 65.7% in the first half of 2008 according to the Motorcycle Industry Council. Piaggio, who makes Vespa – probably the most popular scooters in the world, enjoyed a first quarter boost of 74%.

You can’t blame people. On a decent drive, a scooter can average 60 mpg. That number, you can’t readily get from a car, even with a hybrid like the Prius.

Source: Reuters

If only my locality was more scooter friendly, I’d really give driving a two-wheel vehicle some thought. I mean, I really do envy those lucky bastards who get to drive around in their Vespas and get as high as 50 mpg while I content myself getting only 24 mpg in my beater of a car.

I’ve talked to some friends and they’re now considering parking their four wheels at home and getting either a bicycle or a scooter to ferry themselves around town. The green brigade would definitely applaud cyclists but what’s a good 0-emission alternative to scooters? Electric scooter. Like this one – the Vectrix electric scooter.

Interesting numbers – top speed of 62 mph, 0-50 in 6.8 seconds and 40-60 miles on top charge. Here’s a interview video featuring Vectrix’ sales director Jim Plagenhoef:

Source: Auto Channel

I was chatting with my sportbike riding friend and he shared one pet peeve when riding out with ladies. He can actually classify his dates based on how they ride with him. Many of them struggle with riding, not clasping his waist tight enough, and aren’t too cooperative enough to “roll” with him when turning. And nothing seems to piss him off since, I guess, he loves riding more than them.

Still, here’s a contraption that I’ll be recommending to him, for both his benefit and his date’s. TankGrip is a fuel-tank mounted handles designed to be available for sportbike passengers. So no more unsteady hands around waists (nothing will be more embarrassing than your date falling off your bike, right?) though you still get that “embrace” feeling because of the layout.

Tankgrip is an entirely handmade shell with integrated handles that can be fitted simply and quickly to a motorcycle ’s petrol tank. The shell can be made from polyester or carbon fibre, depending on the customer’s preference. Tankgrip is always altered to suit the make of bike so that it creates a single streamlined unit.

Well, if you ask me, this is one innovative product over that bike canopy we’ve featured a week ago.

The gas prices are absolutely ridiculous. Good thing I only work at home, cutting a lot back on transportation costs since I don’t have to commute to and from work on a daily basis. But since I still have some errands and chores to accomplish within a week, I still go out about three times – still with much respite compared to others who have to spend around $150 weekly to fill up tanks of their hulking SUVs.

There’s a mad rush to switch to more fuel efficient vehicles. The problem for SUV owners, however, is that they will be going for broke trading in their SUVs. No one wants to buy them and even used-car lots wouldn’t touch them with a thirty-foot pole. Hybrids still cost a lot for the average Joe. While smaller sedans and even kei and smart cars are increasingly popular, putting down money for a new car can be something not everyone can afford. An emerging bridge to this is a switch (at least a temporary one) from four wheels to two.

I know a friend who has unloaded his 2.0L Accord in favor of a Vespa. He still has to travel some good miles a day on average and fills up his Vespa once a week but pays only $10 at the pump. Sure, it’s partly because of its 2.5 gallon fuel tank capacity but it’s mostly because the Vespa can get 60 or so miles to the gallon. It pisses him off like hell when it rains and safety is also an issue but he can pretty much up the ante on his insurance premiums with the $140 a week savings.

And he’s not the only one shifting. A lot of other people are ditching four wheels to two. Cycle sales are already up this year and it’s highly likely that some of riders (from the 70s and 80s) once again rediscover the joys of riding two wheels.

Honda has been one in the forefront in pushing motorcycle engineering and bringing it into today’s world of electronic wizardry. I was amazed when news first announced that they’ve brought technologies then only applied to cars to something as small as scooters and mopeds. First it was ABS, then it was CBS (combined braking system). And now Honda brings us C-ABS – combined ABS for super sport bikes.

The system consists of an electronically controlled combined “brake by wire” system with an innovative stroke simulator. Direct motor control ensures precise operation of the ABS. The components are divided into several smaller units so there are more, but smaller units than in previous systems.

The advantages of this new system includes all the functions made available by both ABS and CBS – prevention of wheel lock, improved balance, zero compromise to stability, and pitch minimization giving the rider control over the bike and performance.

Source: Honda

One of the growing appeals of motorbikes is it’s (well, most of the time) is cheaper than a car and, because of the smaller engine displacements (even a huge 1000 cc bike engine is still smaller than your Civic’s engine) consume less gasoline. That means you can get more miles from your gallon with them.

This is no paid-for post but product features can’t be avoided especially if 1) they’re really amusingly dumb 2), they’re amusingly promising, and 3) they really work. This one, for me, is a bit of all three, though I’m sure that some might find this dumb. I mean, one of the other appeals of riding a bike is it’s openness – the lack of large windscreens, doors, roof (and crumple zones). So why the heck would one put on a canopy on a bike?

Bikes, by themselves, offer no protection at all from the elements. No roof, just you, your bike, a helmet, and whatever you’re wearing. But not with this thing, as the manufacturer claims – Rocketshield‘s bike canopies. And there’s more to it, than just a roof for your bike. Just check out what this thing adds to your bike

• Back draft created in the cockpit area circulates engine heat creating a warmer riding temperature
• Canopy offers shade and deflects oncoming blasts of heat
• Windshield deflects oncoming elements and slim enough to maintain 100% mirror visibility

I mean, I wonder what actual (overall) protection it gives. It’s not like bikes have crumple zones. And what if the downpour’s pretty rough. Even cars with a cabin and large wipers crap out in terms of visibility then. But it does make this Kawasaki Ninja look like an alien pod or something.

So bikers, do you think this would work for you?

Okay, so after quite a few months in existence, we’re expanding out horizons a bit here at AutoJab to cover other things with wheels and engines. Since we’ve focused more on those that have four wheels, we felt that there’s no reason as to why we should just write about those with less than four wheels.

Starting today, we’ll throwing in some news and tips for the motorcycle enthusiasts along with the car stuff we’ve been featuring. Helmet heads, unite!