A couple of weekends back on November 5th, Sloan's Motorcycles and ATV Superstore held a demo ride event featuring their remaining 2011 Aprilia and Moto Guzzi street bikes as well as a couple of Vespa scooters. Johnny and I as well as Kevin and Gerald from our forums planned on making the scene for a chance to saddle up on some Italian hardware. Johnny and I each wrote out reviews and they have been combined into this unified article. As the article progresses we'll denote who is "speaking".

So enough already right? Let's get to it.

Brandon:

Kevin met up with Johnny and I in the morning for a "brisk" ride in some dense fog out the the 'Boro from Old Hickory. We arrived a bit before 10:00 am, signed the necessary paperwork, and hunted down some coffee before finally heading out the parking lot. About a dozen other riders joined us in circling the demo machines like sharks ready to feast. This would be the order of the day as one basically just stood near the bike one wanted try out, with jacket on and helmet in hand, ready to pounce on the ride of your choice.

In the past here on Nashvilleriders.com you have seen where I have posted up link to reviews I have written for webBikeWorld.com. Recently Johnny and I teamed up for a "quick look" at a Japanese Industry Standard, or JIS, screwdriver at the request of wBW. In particular one from AMES. We wanted to see if there really is a noticeable difference between using one of these screwdrivers versus a standard Phillips head screwdriver. It turns out that the answer was a resounding "sometimes". Here's an excerpt from the review:

The parts guy at the motorcycle shop stared at me for an eternity before he finally blinked and said, 'There's no such thing.' Patiently I tried again to explain to him just exactly what I was looking for:  A Japanese-spec screwdriver that wouldn't strip out the screws on my old KZ 650.

I suggested he ask the mechanics in the shop, figuring they would probably know where I could get one, but that didn't work out either. He returned a few minutes later, only to tell me that the mechanic said I was using the wrong size screwdriver."

You can check out the complete review over at webBikeWorld and you can see the video here.

I was reading an article in a British motorcycle magazine recently where the subject had come up about whether Hi-Vis jackets, helmets, etc. actually help you get noticed or do they help you get noticed to the point of making you a target. When I usually see someone riding with Hi-Vis gear on I think "Good for them!". I personally haven't gotten to that point yet where I'll don the Hi-Vis orange/yellow colored vest just to add a little visibility. Just a little to vain I suppose but I don't think I'm alone. Could it be though that I'm actually doing myself a favor by not dressing up in "Dayglow"?

One of the first things we learn (or should learn) as motorcyclists is to avoid target fixation. Target fixation occurs when you are looking at obstacle you are trying to avoid. Watching that obstacle instead of looking where you want to go will most likely carry you and your bike right into the very thing you want to avoid. Personally I have experienced this phenomenon coming around a corner and seeing a rider in the guard rail. This caused me to "park" my self and my bike next to him in (under) said guard rail.

This target fixation issue not only affect us as riders but it would only seem logical that this affects drivers of other vehicles as well. If so, then is it possible that a driver of a car could end up fixating on the fluorescent green helmet of the rider that they are close to striking and end up more likely to do so because of said helmet? In the story I was reading there were testimonials from riders who had ridden for decades nearly or completely accident free. In recent years however they had been struck by a vehicle(s) and this occurred after they had started wearing Hi-Vis type apparel.

As we are approaching 2012 we are also approaching the two year anniversary of the Nashvilleriders.com website's existence. We officially launched on January 16 of 2010 but work began back in November of 2009. since that time there have been some minor updates here and there with layout and design as well as a changeover from one forum system to another. Now as we get ready to go into our third year of operation there are some changes we intend to implement by the end of the year.

First up will (or may) be some design changes to the overall look and feel of the site. I feel that some things could be tweaked or changed altogether that could improve navigation and ease of use of the Nashvilleriders.com website. Of course we will be looking for opinions  as we do this and will create a demo area for users to test. I want to make sure any changes that I feel are useful aren't simply painful for everyone else :)

One change that we've already implemented is some social feed links where you can easily go to our Facebook, Twitter, and RSS feeds from the icons just under the search box at the top right of the window. You can also share us on Digg if you have an account there. I think many of you know I'm not a huge fan of social media but it does help spread the word and let those of you who do use these services to keep up with what's happening here.