XINGYUE Recalls 2009-2010 Auto Moto XY150ZK Motor Scooters for Improper Location of Rear Brake Control

XINGYUE is recalling certain model year 2009 and 2010 Auto Moto XY150ZK motor scooters manufactured from March 2009 through June 2010.

The rear brake control should be actuated by the driver's right foot and not the left hand as required by Federal Motor Vehicles Safety Standard No. 123, "Motorcycle Controls and Displays."

305 units are affected.

Check out my Motorcycle Recalls feature for more details.

Motorcycle Cannonball Endurance Run - Old Bikes Hit the Road

As I mentioned in a previous blog entry, The Motorcycle Cannonball Endurance Run has begun. This is a coast-to-coast run of pre-1916 motorcycles starting from Kitty Hawk, North Carolina and ending in Santa Monica, California. Dates for the run are September 10-26, 2010. Check out the Cannonball Run website for everything you might want to know about this historic run. (I've noticed that the website can be slow to load or even produce dreaded Internal Server Errors.)

To give you a flavor for what the bikes look like and sound like and how enthusiastic their riders are, I've listed five videos of interviews with Cannonball riders:

• #44 Jon Szalay - 1911 H-D 7A


• #16 Bill Campbell - 1915 H-D Twin


• #15 Buzz Kanter - 1915 H-D Twin


• #47 Ron Mattson - 1915 Indian F-head V-twin


• #89 Cristine Sommer-Simmons - 1915 H-D 11-J

Keep checking the Cannonball Run website for daily updates. Hopefully, we may see some coverage of this event on TV.

Motorcycle Pictures of the Week - Ken & Lynn

Here are my Pictures of the Week as displayed on the Motorcycle Views Website. These are taken from the Moto Pic Gallery. See Ken & Lynn on their 2001 V-Cycle RoadHawk. We need more pictures of men and women with their motorcycles. Get your picture in. For details, see Motorcycle Pictures of the Week.

If you'd like to see your bike as Picture of the Week, submit a picture of you and your bike along with a description of the bike.

Motorcycle Accidents - Save Yourself

I've been harping on safe riding for years. I even wrote 10 Ways To Be Safe on a Motorcycle. Please read my article and pass it on to your friends, even those who don't ride. We need to save a few lives and it all starts with you.

I see several motorcycle fatalities every day through my Google Alerts. Here's a representative article I just read. It will break your heart.

Reading a newspaper account of an accident like this always leaves the reader with questions about just what were the conditions under which the accident occurred. We've all heard reports that the driver didn't see the bike at all. Well, there are conditions where the sun is in your eyes and blocks out the rider. Or, some part of the structure of the car blocks your vision. I know this happens. I have to move forward, back, and side-to-side sometimes to be sure I can see the complete roadway when I'm waiting to turn in my car. And the small profile of a motorcycle coming at you is hard to see even under good conditions. Of course, these days, the possibility of the driver having a cell phone in their ear doesn't help at all.

I don't want to leave the motorcycle rider out here. We, as riders, don't always look out for ourselves. We know that we need to consider ourselves invisible to other drivers (and motorcyclists). That means always riding with space around us and constantly practicing defensive riding. Anticipate what a driver will do and allow space in case they do what you expect.

In the case of trying to prepare for a left-turner in front of you, always make sure you don't ride close to the car in front of you. A left-turner will see the car in front of you but you may be blocked from their view. The left-turner sees the car in front of you pass and makes a sudden left turn and you smash into them.

I heard of another accident where a car waiting to make a left turn did nothing wrong except they had their wheels turned left anticipating the turn when a vehicle behind them crashed into them and forced their car into the oncoming lane killing a motorcyclist. Folks, I thought everyone knew that you never turn your wheels at rest while waiting to turn. Always keep them straight ahead. If you're hit, you won't go into the oncoming lane.

I guess one could go on and on about left-turners and how to prevent motorcycle fatalities. However, I know these accidents will keep happening. But we all can prevent a few from happening. Reading my 10 Ways To Be Safe on a Motorcycle will help to put a few ideas in your head that may save your life. And really, all I'm trying to do is save you and keep you riding and riding and riding until the day you choose to stop riding. Hopefully, that day will never come.

If you have any comments on how to be safe on a motorcycle, leave them below.

Motorcycle Pictures of the Week - Jose

Here are my Pictures of the Week as displayed on the Motorcycle Views Website. These are taken from the Moto Pic Gallery. See Jose with his 2005 Honda Shadow Aero. We need more pictures of men and women with their motorcycles. Get your picture in. For details, see Motorcycle Pictures of the Week.

If you'd like to see your bike as Picture of the Week, submit a picture of you and your bike along with a description of the bike.