A customer recently asked me if he could use his open face helmet on one of our motorcycle tours.

In Europe as long as you wear a helmet you are OK! Now if you are European you should of course make sure your helmet has been certified following the European regulations. There should be a (E) sticker on your helmet. Now if you aren’t European you can use your helmet as long as it is one inside the regulations frame. This means no “fancy” “half ball” shapes and equivalent stuff.

Recently some countries made it more clear inside the regulations, which stated earlier that you should have a helmet….pretty obvious, but regarding some behaviors and especially on the teenager’s side it was necessary to add: you should wear that helmet on your head and have it properly attached! Sounds obvious too but it isn’t that bad to remind it.

Again today I could admire, even though the weather is now hot and gorgeous here on the French Riviera, the perfect biker equipment on guys riding motorcycles: leather jackets or motorcycle jackets, helmet, gloves, boots. On the other side you have all those teenagers riding their noisy scooters and wearing, for the most serious ones sun glasses and a helmet…which most of the time is on the head like a cap! Won’t be useful in case of a crash. Don't even try to wear it like the lady on the photo.

The only regulation is about wearing a helmet: follow it! But common sense makes it obvious you should also wear some more equipment and not just a short sleeved shirt like the French Gendarmes! (well they don’t have the choice as they have to follow the instructions from a general living in a nice office and who never got on a motorcycle).

A helmet and the proper gear = no road pizza!

I have already written a note, called Say Hello about waving and saying hello when crossing a fellow biker.

Recently riding a F650GS for work I noticed that in fact there is a different reaction depending of the motorcycle size! When you are riding a big beast you will have a lot of chances to get a nice waving, BUT when riding a lovely but small bike…they just ignore you!

As a famous French humorist called Coluche said “Il y aura des grands, il y aura des petits, il y aura des blancs, il y aura des noirs, mais ce ne sera pas facile pour tout le monde, surtout pour les petits et noirs!” which translated gives “There will be tall and small people, white and blacks and it won’t be easy, especially for the little blacks”, seems true with bikes too!

Very recently launched on the market the K1200GT 2006 is the third BMW with the new 4 cylinder engine ; already available on the K1200S and the K1200R.

Our test took place on a sunny day on the French Riviera (from where all our 2006 tours start) on roads mixing small back country twisty roads and highways. As the test took place in France the power of the bike was limited to 100 BHp (another regulation created by a guy behind a desk who don’t even knows how many wheels a motorcycle has! As you can pilot a bike way faster than 130 km/h even when it has only 50 BHp). Due to this limitation some comments may not apply to the international version of the K1200GT.

First impression is when you look at the beast: size is ok and the frame is especially sleek, with no fancy design. Flat and efficient! Pure German design (this is a positive comment ;). The control panel is very close to the R1200RT one, except the clocks have a sort of cover. The saddle can as usual be adjusted to the pilot’s size as well as the handle bars, with a very smart system. Good point. Big handles for the passenger are also available.
Like on the K1200S or K1200R the clutch or gear bow (can’t remember) is very present on the right side and is, from my point of view, really annoying from time to time as you have to squeeze your boot underneath it? But I guess most will be ok with it.

Contact! The four cylinder 1157 cm3 engine purrs like a big cat. But like on the K1200S I tested it sounds as if the revs are too high even though they are at 1.000 rpm. A little twist of the handle gets the beast to roar like a wild cat! Exciting! The suspension gets adjusted to “Normal” thanks to the ESA (Electronic Suspension Adjustment) and here we go!
First feeling: that thing is very light (in fact more than 280 kg with all fluids on board)! Second feeling: damn each time I turn she wants to fall! In fact it takes you a couple of curves to get used to that feeling, and to admire how perfectly glued to your trajectory the bike stays! Like on a train track! That Duolever ® is amazing! I would even say you have to be careful as you get very quickly excited by it and on wet conditions …you may be surprised ;)

On the high way it is very quickly obvious that the windshield is less efficient that the R1200RT one (I am tall) and the frame doesn’t protect as well. For such a machine definitely dedicated to long runs it is surprisingly inefficient compared to the RT. On the feeling side and thanks to the engine noise you always get the feeling that you are faster than what you are, but you will anyway blow the speed limits all the time if you don’t pay attention!
Accelerations are quick and efficient and you get the feeling the engine will never stop revving up! Unfortunately, on the French version, you get the handle twisted to the stop to get a nice powerful acceleration with some sort of excitement (on a circuit).
Good point: the mirrors and high and in the field of sight, not like on the RT on which you need to look down to know what comes from behind (in case you let people over take you). But I noticed that they are too high…if you try to slip through traffic and SUVs, trucks, busses! But this is a very French way to drive, so may not happen elsewhere.

The same side cases like the RT are standard with the bike and allow for a nice amount of luggage (see comments from Christelle about luggage management).

While riding and thanks to the ESA you can adjust the suspension to:

• Normal
• Comfort
• Sport

And the bike gets the setting best adapted to the riding style and road. Really a great tool!

In summary and after that short ride this is definitely a great tourer made for long distances with or without a passenger. But I would say I prefer the boxer engine of the RT, more grunt at low revs, more funny.

What a nice day! The sun is out, birds are singing (spring is back) and I am off to test the new K1200GT and the already well known F650GS to write some test paper about them! And by the way just to make it perfect the test it takes place on the french riviera!

The F650GS test will appear in the quarterly Unicorn Adventures Ltd Newsletter you can register to on the web site. You can also access our newsletter archive here!

The K1200GT test will appear here as soon as I write it!

Unicorn Adventures is about passion, let us present you our philosophy...

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OK she is blonde! Not our fault though! Well the good thing is she tries to get on the right equipment to get on a motorcycle, but still needs to learn!

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Here is a smashing video of Kimberly Stewart and Paris Hilton trying to stay on a motorcycle! This video demonstrates that you should always wear a helmet, even if there is nothing left to save!

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Just one more of those days where thinking about motorcycle riders and their safety ends up listing car drivers and their bad habits!

Close to 25 to 30 percent of car drivers in Europe admit they use their mobile phone while driving! And most of them, if you look through car windows, do it without a free hand kit but prefer holding the little (every month a bit smaller) device with one hand while taking notes with the other one; which of course is sort of a problem when you need a third one (not available on standard human beings) to drive. Well lets not be the smart angel here as we all did it at least once!

But it is obvious (some studies in France for example demonstrated that the ratio grows by 1 to 2 percent every year) that more an more people do use the mobile while driving. This is of course part of the growing mobile phone market but also, from my opinion, by the growth of a more egocentric view of the world and the road than before.

We are lucky to spend a lot of time riding motorcycles during our Unicorn Adventures Ltd motorcycle tours and as we have to spend a lot of time in the south of France from where the tours start we have the perfect test lab to analyze mobile phone use!

The sort of relaxed attitude in southern Europe and France especially gives you fantastic situations As long as you keep your eyes wide open to avoid accidents.
There are the usual international idiots who do of course phone while driving, try to shift gear and take notes at the same time, as long as you keep an eye on them from a long distance before over taking them they are pretty easy to spot: can’t keep driving in a straight line and change direction at the very mast moment! Of and of course if you dare honking to let them know they nearly hit you they are the offended ones! The worst I have ever heard was that woman who killed police and rescue men on the side of the road because she was ….sending an SMS while driving!!!! And didn’t see the poor guys standing on the side of the road working!
Now that we soon get the 3G at a good price imagine what will happen when a driver watches a football (soccer) game while driving? Should be interesting!

Now the police men should catch those guys, shouldn’t they? Well not that easy as there are too many and the cops are busy catching people driving with 5 km/h (3 mph) over the speed limit to get as much cash as possible in the government’s pockets. But well the try to when ever possible.

People know they should pull over and only then place their call or answer (by the way did you notice how the incoming call is way more important than anything else nowadays? People stop what ever they are doing to answer the phone! Crazy!)

So some pull over, but they do it on the spot! As soon as the phone rings! I have seen guys parked on the emergency lanes on the motorways, in curves (no of course not on the road side but right in the middle), and the best are in town, where they just stop without noticing that maybe there are some other vehicles right behind or other people daring to drive the same way!

Thanks to the very powerful BWM R1200RT horn I always get a huge success when I honk right aside the innocent idiot on the phone, and as we bikers still keep a special image at least they look scared and understand the mistake, but they won’t stop the call, no worries!

Keep your eyes open! And stay safe!

By the way some intercom solutions offer mobile phone call management for the motorcyclist and her/his helmet…is that really safe as we need to stay focused on a bike?

Some time ago friends of mine and I had a chat with a young guy who was going to get his motorcycle driving license and who was quite concerned about the fact he would only be authorized to ride a 34 Bhp bike for a couple for a couple of years (this discussion took place in France where a young –less than 25 yo biker isn’t authorized to ride a bike more powerful than 34 Bhp) because his dream bike was a GSX-R !

It was interesting to listen to him as his main argument was speed! And he wanted to make clear he could ride a gixer after 20 hours or so of motorcycle riding lessons! We aren’t going to rewrite the usual story about inexperienced young blokes vs. experienced old bikers but this was a perfect example of misunderstanding of what is motorcycle riding about, on open roads: the pleasure of the perfect curve! Anyone is able to ride at full speed on a straight line on an empty motorway, but not that many really master the art of curve taking, and I won’t be the one saying “I know it perfectly” even though I have ridden during years and many miles. I am still learning as no curve is like the next one.

Hold on I am not saying you will only enjoy riding a bike if its power is minimal! No! Power and torque are great tools you will always need. First of all they will give you that great feeling when, just after the turning point in the curve, you start opening the throttle and get that kick in the rear until you reach the breaking point to the next curve entry. That moment when you apply the perfect subtle amount of pressure on the breaks (not talking about the last chance breaking when the eyes hit the helmet visor) to get the perfect angle, with the best possible grip (remember to transfer weight from the middle to the front to get a nicely loaded front wheel with the best grip right at the curve entry), when you get on the imaginary line hitting the central point, just before opening the gas throttle!

If you take a look at the average speed between a rocket (a biker riding like a nut case in any straight line and breaking like hell before each curve) and a rhythm box (a biker who will always be on the right gear, with the correct breaking, the proper angle and a clean curve exit, you may see very little difference! You may even be surprised by the result (remember the Jean de Lafontaine fable about the Tortoise and the Rabbit) ! By the way we are here talking about riding a bike on an open road, where one is supposed to follow the rules and respect the other vehicles (which you can also call mobile chicanes).

During some motorcycle tours like those managed by Unicorn Adventures Ltd it often happens that sports bikes simply get overtaken by some vanity caseslike a K1200LT or a R1200RT just because the experience and the riding rhythm are more efficient and less aggressive, not thanks to the top speed!

Now for those who really want to mix speed and perfect curve handling it is possible of course ! But on a circuit, which is the perfect place to become as good as Valentino (or close to it).

Il y a quelques temps de cela je me suis retrouvé avec des amis motards également à discuter avec un jeune homme qui était en train de passer son permis de conduire et dont la plus grosse inquiétude venait du fait de voir la puissance de sa première moto limitée à 34cv (législation française sur le permis de moto et les jeunes de moins de 25 ans, je crois) alors que son rêve se portait plus sur une GSX-R !

Il était intéressant de constater que son argument principal était la vitesse et qu’il voulait être maître de sa célérité et pensait pouvoir amplement gérer une telle machine après une vingtaine d’heures de formation ! Bon on ne va pas refaire l’histoire des jeunes contre les vieux mais c’était là un bel exemple de mécompréhension de ce qui fait la moto : le plaisir de la trajectoire en courbe ! Tout le monde sait prendre une ligne droite à pleine vitesse, mais bien moins de personnes maîtrisent véritablement l’art du virage, et ce n’est pas moi qui vais dire que les miens sont parfaits, malgré les années et les kilomètres.

Je ne vais pas non plus dire qu’il faut une moto sans puissance ni vitesse car cela sert toujours. De plus il est tellement plaisant en sortie de courbe d’ouvrir et de sentir toute cette puissance se libérer et vous propulser vers le virage suivant, où après un fin freinage (qui souvent sera qualifié de « trappeur ») on se retrouve sur le bon angle, avec la bonne adhérence (pensez au transfert de charge sur la roue avant en entrée de courbe pour une parfaite adhérence) et surtout sur cette ligne imaginaire qui vient lécher le point de courbe ! Juste avant le moment de la remise des gaz !

Si vous prenez la moyenne horaire sur un trajet sinueux entre une fusée (autrement dit un/e motard/e qui est à fond dans les bouts droits et à l’agonie dans les virages) et une boîte à rythme (autrement dit un/e motard/e qui sera toujours sur le bon rapport avec juste ce qu’il faut de frein pour entrer dans le virage, le bon angle et une sortie propre) vous remarquerez peu de différence ! Et vous pouvez même être surpris du résultat (un peu comme le lièvre et la tortue). Au fait tout ce qui vient d’être écrit l’est pour ceux qui comme nous roulent sur routes ouvertes ou une certaine décence demande à respecter le cadre légal ainsi que les autres usagers de la route (aussi appelés chicanes mobiles).

Lors de circuits touristiques comme ceux d’Unicorn Adventures Ltd il est souvent intéressant de voir des motards en super sportive se faire proprement déposer par des valises à roulettes comme une K1200LT ou une R1200RT tout simplement parce que leur rythme est plus élevé et non leur vitesse !

Enfin pour ceux qui veulent mélanger vitesse et rythme il y a l’environnement parfait : le circuit !

The 2006 AMA/FIM (Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme) International Women & Motorcycling Conference presented by Harley-Davidson & Buell will be held from June 30 until July 3, 2006 in Athens, (Georgia, USA).

The AMA (American Motorcyclist Association) is working closely with its conference partners (Motor Maids, Women in the Wind, Women on Wheels, Women's International Motorcycle Association-USA, Women's Motorcyclist Foundation, Femmoto, Ebony Angels, and MXGirls.com) to plan the conference where 1000 people are expected.

At the conference the attendees will spend four days with other women motorcyclists, sharing experiences with them. They’ll also have the opportunity to be more informed and educated about important motorcycle-related subjects and thanks to that, will learn new interesting skills.

Click on the following link to get more info about the: International Women & Motorcycling Conference

All the information you need to prepare your attendance to such a nice event is available: conference schedule, list of activities proposed over these four days (like the opening ceremonies, the demo rides, the vendors part, guided tours, parties…), the lodging options, the riding destinations from there… and of course the registration form.

Come on girls! Register now: I’m sure you’ll spend a real great time!

La Conférence Internationale sur les Femmes et le Motocyclisme 2006 de l’AMA/FIM (Association Américaine des Motocyclieste / Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme) présentée par Harley-Davidson et Buell se tiendra du 30 juin au 3 juillet 2006 à Athènes (Georgie, Etats-Unis).

L’AMA travaille en étroite collaboration avec ses partenaires (à savoir Motor Maids, Women in the Wind, Women on Wheels, Women's International Motorcycle Association-USA, Women's Motorcyclist Foundation, Femmoto, Ebony Angels et MXGirls.com) afin d’organiser la conférence à laquelle devraient participer 1000 personnes.

Au cours de la conférence, les participant(e)s auront l’occasion de passer quatre jours avec des femmes motardes, partageant leurs expériences avec elles. Ils/elles auront également l’opportunité d’être davantage informé(e)s et formé(e)s sur des sujets liés au monde de la moto et grâce à cela, acquerront des compétences supplémentaires.

Cliquez sur le lien suivant pour obtenir plus d'informations sur la : Conférence Internationale sur les Femmes et le Motocyclisme

Vous trouverez sur ce site tout ce que vous devez savoir pour préparer votre participation : le programme de la conférence, les diverses activités proposées sur les quatre jours (les cérémonies d’ouverture, les essais moto, la visite des stands commerciaux, les circuits organisés, les fêtes…), l’hébergement, les balades à moto possibles dans les environs… et, bien entendu, le formulaire d’inscription.

Allez les filles ! Inscrivez-vous et passez du bon temps !