GPX-GPS files and the Goldwing nav system
March 2026—a refresher on hand signals………….article
February 2026—–thinking of switching from two wheels to three??? article
January 2026—–Zero to sixty+…….a pdf and PowerPoint re the issue of being a mature rider….pdf….powerpoint
December 2025…………..7 tips for winter riding and winter gear……..video
November 2025—- Winter, and all it brings, is coming—-here is a good video regarding riding in winter…. article……and if you put your bike up over winter, here are a couple of videos on what to do…..article and article
October 2025—–A video for beginners (and a good reminder to experienced riders) of mistakes and consequences and lessons to be learned. To me, speed seems to be a major factor…ANYWAY….article
September 2025—–Motorcycle mistakes—–not the best directed video ever, but it has real video clips of accidents and almost accidents and what to learn from them…video
August 2025—whew…the heat of the last couple of weeks has been brutal. Since we have August and the first couple of weeks of September to go thru yet, here is an article from Eaglewings about riding in the heat…article
June and July 2025—-Summer heat is almost upon us, so it is a good time to discuss some things related to riding in the heat….first, an article regarding heat exhaustion and stroke symptoms—article. Then, an interesting article regarding riding in the heat—article, finally, a longer video but well explained re cooling and heat (good point re roofers) …article.
May 2025—-Video regarding group riding video and video
April 2025—-hand signals video
March 2025—-Spring is here, in temperatures if not on the calendar….yet. To go with spring, I have an old favorite—riding in the rain—along with some basic hand signals article and article.
February 2025—-Another month and it will start to get warmer…until then if you can’t stand it any longer and need to take a ride, here are some suggestions and reminders regarding dressing for and preventing and treating cold weather emergencies.
January 2025—-I am doing a repost of last January’s post: Welcome to the new year! We have finally gotten to the point that it is too cold for most of us to ride, at least on a regular basis. So now might be a good time to put a trickle charger on that battery and check over the bike and make sure it is safe and ready to go when some good weather does come along. article and article It ALSO might be a good time to snuggle up with a good PDF and re-read the Motorcycle Operators Manual from Motorcycle Safety Foundation for 2 and 3 wheelers……fyi it takes a bit to download… article
December 2024—–Welcome to the Holiday Season!! Instead of a safety issue this month, since it is the holiday season, I have a video of motorcycle related gift suggestions for yourself and others. Actually, a couple of the suggestions are related to first aid, so I guess this is a safety issue video. Anyway, it is 35 minutes long but has some really neat suggestions, two or three or four of which I am going to ask Santa for……..here is the video, enjoy…….video
November 2024——The first year after Missouri’s helmet law was repealed there was a 40% increase in deaths from a motorcycle accident, the message is simple—-wear a DOT approved helmet…. article
Bonus videos—since I must have slept thru most of October…winter riding tips and hacks (the hack video is pretty good, not that the other wasn’t good also): video….video
September 2024—-An article from Shelter Insurance reminders for motorcycle safety…article
August 2024—–An article from Motorcycle Safety Foundation, the physical security of your motorcycle—article
July 2024—-From Eaglewings, just released—-the co-rider presentation has been updated and released—-powerpoint article
June 2024—-From Eaglewings—riding in the heat—article
May 2024—-From Eaglewings, Riding in the Rain—-article
April 2024—From Eaglewings—riding at night—article
March 2024—–as we go out riding, a first aid kit is always a good thing to have along with you…..article
February 2024—--Well, it is about time to start riding again, depending on your coolness comfort level…….In fact, I went out twice last week in 60 plus degree weather! Here are some reminders regarding group riding…….article and article.
January 2024——Welcome to the new year! We have finally gotten to the point that it is too cold for most of us to ride, at least on a regular basis. So now might be a good time to put a trickle charger on that battery and check over the bike and make sure it is safe and ready to go when some good weather does come along. article and article It ALSO might be a good time to snuggle up with a good PDF and re-read the Motorcycle Operators Manual from Motorcycle Safety Foundation for 2 and 3 wheelers. article
December 2023—- Well, it has definitely cooled down, but luckily it is not so bad that we cannot keep riding. So here are some tips from Eagle Wings about dressing for the cold and dealing with cold emergencies…. article and article .
November 2023—Winter is knocking at the door this week….here are some cold weather riding gear suggestions…..video and video
October 2023—-turns out insurance companies have a whole host of articles re motorcycle safety. Here are some good (and short) ones: Motorcycle toolkit essentials, Motorcycle safety tips, Group Riding Safety tips..let me add that I am reading in some sources that they recommend single file travel on two lane roads now—makes sense to me, and finally and yes the time is coming…winterizing your bike.
September—-from the Motorcycle Safety Foundation—-Pretend you are Invisible
August, supplement—–the Eagle Wings newsletter talked about learning or even relearning hand signals for motorcycle communications. So, with that, I am linking to the MSF (Motorcycle Safety Foundation) leaflet on hand signals and the Eagle wing version.
August 2023……. Boy oh boy, with the heat and dry that we have been having, I thought that maybe an article on signs of heat exhaustion and how to treat it might be in order. article Read the article, but here is what you really, really need to remember from the article:
Heat Exhaustion
To treat heat exhaustion, you should:
- Move to a cooler area, out of direct sunlight.
- Loosen clothing.
- Apply cool, wet towels to your face, neck, chest, and limbs.
- Have someone fan your skin.
- Drink cool water or sports drinks every 15 minutes.
- Don’t drink too quickly.
Heatstroke
Heatstroke is a life-threatening emergency. Call 911 or go to an emergency room immediately. In the meantime:
- Move the person to a cooler area, out of direct sunlight.
- Loosen clothing.
- Remove any sweaty clothing.
- Apply cool, wet towels to the face, neck, chest, and limbs.
- Apply ice, if you have it, to the underarms, wrists, and groin.
- Fan the person’s skin.
- Offer cool water or sports drinks every 15 minutes if the person is conscious.
July 2023 ……. The last few months we have covered environmental issues with riding a bike. This month lets go over some of the basics again, just in case we have forgotten or take for granted one or two of those issues. Here is a link to the MSF’s “Street Motorcycle Tips”
June 2023…….. As we are heading into summer, I thought that info on riding in hot weather might be appropriate…..first is a 10-year-old article on the subject. The tips are still good but the materials they reference (jackets, riding suits, etc) are long gone and replaced by newer versions.,,https://ultimatemotorcycling.com/2016/06/24/top-10-hot-weather-motorcycle-riding-tips/ Next is a much condensed article that includes having a kickstand puck for really hot days….https://roadguardians.org/5-tips-for-riding-your-motorcycle-in-the-summer-heat/ Finally, a fairly current article discussing current products to help you cope with the heat https://womenridersnow.com/top-6-tips-for-riding-your-motorcycle-in-hot-weather/ Stay safe out there!!!
May 2023……EWMA article on riding at night……article
April 2023…..Here we are…RIDING WEATHER!!! And with that comes group rides and all the fun and challenges that come with it. MSF (Motorcycle Safety Foundation) has an excellent, concise handout regarding tips for riding in groups here. Of course, another safety issue is tires…dry weather, wet weather, they are what help us maneuver and stop, again, MSF has a good guide regarding why tires are important and what the heck all those letters and numbers mean…see it here
March 2023
Hi everyone. Well, we are starting to get into riding season again…finally. And with that rain and wind season. I am going to post a few videos re riding techniques for rain over the next few days, so check back periodically. First up is this video: youtube.com . Now I do not care for how fast this guy rides in the rain, I always seem to start to lose traction at those speeds in the rain….of course that also depends on how hard it is raining and how quickly it drains off the road, but he made some good comments re riding slower and smoother, and his tip about using the wind to clean off your visor a good one. So, listen to it but take from it what you are comfortable with. Ok, next up is a good video discussing a lot of good tips for riding in the rain: video I actually like this video better than the first. And finally, a video from Europe…England or at least Great Britian I am guessing, where they know a thing or two about rain. It’s kind of long but is a good video, riding along with the rider, with good reminders of riding tips for the rain. video Happy Biking.
February 2023
Hello again everyone. Well, riding season is getting closer for most of us. Time to check over the bike and our safety gear and make sure we are ready for the nicer weather. Going along with getting your bike ready is KEEPING your bike ready. MSF has a handout on something we have all heard of…T-clocs…..here is a link so you can look at and download your own pristine copy: T-clocs MSF also has some motorcycle safety videos, both on their website and on You Tube. Here is one called Staged Motorcycle Traps…..its 9 1/2 minutes long. I recommend we all look at it sometime at least as a reminder of some of the situations we all face from time to time. Since we are not as protected as those in “cages”, our best defense is anticipating a possible problem and trying to be prepared by looking for possible “outs”, slowing down, giving ourselves more time to maneuver, and being alert.
January 2023
Well, it will soon be time to ride, about Mid-February the weather starts offering a few more decent ride days. Now is the time to get your bike and gear ready for the days that are a coming.
Again, borrowing an article from Tim McShane:
Let’s talk more about eye and face protection.
A plastic shatter resistant face shield can help protect your whole face in a crash. It also protects you from wind, dust, dirt, rain, insect, and derbies thrown up from cars ahead of you. These problems are distracting and can be painful. If you have to deal with then, you can’t devote your full attention to the road. Goggles protect your eyes, though they will not protect the rest of your face like a face shield does. A windshield is not a substitute for a face shield or goggles. Most windshields will not protect your eyes form the wind. Neither will eyeglasses or sunglasses. Glasses will not keep your eyes form watering and might blow off when your turn your head. To be effective, eye or face shield protection must:
• Be free of scratches.
• Be resistant to penetration.
• Give clear view to either side.
• Fasten securely so it does not blow off.
• Permit air to pass through to reduce fogging.
• Permit enough room for eyeglasses or sunglasses if needed.
Tinted eye protection should not be worn when little light is available.
December 2022
Continuing to “borrow” from Tim McShane’s past articles in our old newsletter, here is his article on helmets:
Well, it’s almost here! springtime! It is time to warm her up and take her out (I am talking about the bike!)
Let’s talk about the head gear you are going to wear. There are two types of primary types of helmets,
providing two different types of coverage: three-quarter and full face.
Whichever style you choose, you can get the best protection by making sure that the helmet is designed to
meet the D.O.T standards. Helmets from the Snell Memorial Foundation also give you an assurance of quality.
Be sure it fits snugly all the way around, it has no obvious defects such as cracks, loose padding, or frayed
straps.
Whatever helmet you decide on, keep it securely fastened on your head when you ride. If not, when you are
involved in a crash it is likely to fly off your head before it gets a chance to protect you.
A plastic shatter resistant face shield can help protect your whole face in a crash. It also protects you from
wind, dust, dirt, rain, insects and pebbles thrown up from cars ahead of you. These issues can be distracting
and can be painful. If you are dealing with these problems, you are not devoting your full attention to the road.
While goggles protect your eyes, they do not protect the rest of your face. The bike windshield is not protection
like a face shield is. Windshields, eyeglasses, or sunglasses do not protect against the wind. These items will
not keep your eyes from watering and they might blow off when turning your head.
To be effective the face shield must be free of scratches, resistant to penetration,
give clear line of sight in either direction, and let the air pass through to prevent
fogging. It also must be fastened securely to prevent it blowing off. Tinted eye
protection should not be worn when little light is available
November 2022
Hi everyone. I’m not sure but I think my “shift” doesn’t start until the new year…nevertheless, I was looking thru past newsletters looking for safety ideas and ran across this article from Tim McShane—I thought it was appropriate not only from a safety standpoint, but also because it is about time to start leaving hints to Santa for gift ideas for Christmas. New chaps, or a jacket with “armor” in it at critical points, or as Tim points out a new helmet. How about high visibility clothing or a mesh woven jacket for those hot humid days next summer? Safety gear isn’t cheap, but if it can save you some pain or time in the Doctor’s office or even the hospital, then it is worth every penny. Here’s that article:
The topic of the day is what gear is the right gear at the right time. It needs to
protect you in a crash. You have a far better chance of surviving a serious injury.
You need to be wearing a DOT compliant helmet, face or eye protection and
protective clothing. Crashes occur at any time or place, new rider or experienced rider. No one plans on crashing. No matter now well trained or aware of the surroundings, something can and usually does go wrong when least expecting it. One in five crashes result in head or neck injuries. Both can be equally severe. Crash analyses show that head and neck injuries account for a majority of serious and fatal situations for
motorcyclist. Some riders don’t wear helmets thinking it would block side vision or
uncomfortable. Believe me, it is more uncomfortable in a head or neck brace for weeks on end (and no taking that off!).
The most important of the safety gear is the helmet. It needs to be DOT (department of transportation) rated. 40% of riders in crashes state the helmet did not block side view or spotting a dangerous situation. Most crashes happen close to home (five-mile range) and about or lower than 30 mph. Helmet wearers are half as likely to have severe head or neck injuries.
Missouri Eagle Wings 