Motorcycle Parking Lot Dangers

Motorcycle Parking Lot Dangers

I’m beginning to think that parking lots are just as dangerous, if not more so, than riding on streets or freeways. No, I have not been involved in any parking lot skirmishes, but I have seen the aftermath of several automobile parking lot crashes recently. So, when you turn off the main drag don’t relax and let your guard down. I think there are more dangers per foot in a parking lot than on the main road.

For one you have a lot of vehicles that have to be backed out of parking spots and a lot of them will be doing so blindly. It’s not that they just don’t see you like when riding in traffic, it’s that they can’t see you at all. Maybe those loud pipes will come in handy here. Parking lots can be more populated than streets or freeways. So, you have to be on your toes and proceed cautiously all the while being prepared to come to a sudden stop. Also, drivers tend to use their turn signals even less in parking lots than on the main roads.

Yes, you are (hopefully) slowing down but that also brings on its own stability issues you don’t have at higher speeds, losing the motorcycles gyroscopic stability. Slow speed maneuvering is an art form in of itself and is a skill if you are not proficient at I recommend hitting some empty parking lots and practicing before venturing out onto public bumper car lots. There are several good motorcycle books and DVD’s out on this very subject.

Another problem to watch out for is vehicles cutting across the lot and not in the designated driving lanes, trying to beat someone to a cherry parking spot. This happens even on empty parking lots with vehicles driving through the parking spaces.

Crowded parking lots also present the problem with pedestrians, especially small children, stepping out from between parked cars right in front of you. Shopping carts can come from anywhere as well. Trash and debris such as glass and cans are hazards that can also be found strewn haphazardly around parking lots.



So, the next time your turn into a parking lot, don’t start to relax. It’s not the time to put your head in stand down mode, on the contrary, it is time to be more on the alert and put those slow speed parking lot maneuvers that you have practiced to use. Ride safe.

Ride on,

Torch

Kewlmetal Kewlock Review

Kewlmetal Kewlock Review

My Mistress, a 2003 Yamaha V-Star 1100 Classic, came with Kuryakyn ISO grips and a pair of Kewlmetal Kewlocks already installed when I purchased her used. I must say that I have found the Kewlocks one of the most useful accessories on the bike, especially since purchasing a Scorpion EXO-1000 full face helmet for winter and rain riding. It gets used almost every day during the winter now.

Here is a shot of the Scorpion EXO-1000 hanging from the Kewlock, (click on all photos for larger image).

On the V-Star the factory helmet lock is ingeniously located on the left rear fender so that if you install a set of saddlebags it renders it absolutely useless. Makes you wonder just what the engineers were thinking, or smoking, when they designed the bike. Anyway, Kewlmetal has designed a useful accessory to add a helmet lock to the end of one or both sides of your handlebars or grips called a Kewlock.

I know she needs a bath, but keep in mind I almost always ride and its winter.

You can get installation directions online at their website to see how they are installed. Once they are installed they are simple to use. They come with a key which fits into the end of the lock. When the key is turned in the lock a center spring loaded pin pops out about ¼ an inch which opens the slot in the side of the lock. You simply slide in one of the metal rings from your helmet strap into the slot and push the pin back into the lock and it automatically locks the pin in place with the helmet ring inside.

Close up of Kewlock side view of lock with pin in center.

If you do not have a ring that will fit up into the Kewlock slot they make extenders that make it easier to attach. The extenders are a 1 ½ inch thin piece of metal that can be slid into your helmet ring and has a hole on the opposite end that fits easily into the Kewlock. I have not had to use an extender but I do have to turn the helmet rings sideways to get them to fit up into the lock far enough to lock in. Kewlmetal also has neat designer helmet lock extensions on their website.

Closer shot of the helmet ring inside Kewlock.

I usually do not lock up my half helmet at work or at home in the garage; I just lean it on the right saddlebag or hang it on the right handlebar. I do lock it up anytime I go someplace public. My full face helmet I always lock up, the darned things are just too danged expensive. The only disadvantage to using the Kewlocks that I have found is that if your bike happens to get caught out in a shower your helmet gets soaked inside. Don’t ask me how I know. However, that can happen even when not using Kewlocks though.

You can store your gloves & other headgear inside your helmet.

Kewlmetal Kewlocks are a simple tool that makes riding much more convenient and when left unattended, your helmet much more secure. Torch gives the Kewlmetal Kewlocks a M.M.M. Rating of 9.5 on a scale of 1-10.



Ride on,

Torch



Note: All picture except the top one taken with an old little Sony DSC-S650 7.2 Mega Pixel camera.