General

Reuters reports:

As the number of baby boomers  taking to the road on motorbikes has risen, so has the average age of motorcyclists involved in crashes with riders aged 40 plus more likely to be injured or killed, a U.S. study says.

A University of Rochester Medical Center study of 61,689 motorcyclists aged 17 to 89 found that aging road warriors were nearly twice as likely to die as a result of a motorcycle accident compared to younger riders.

Researchers found that between 1996 and 2005 the average age of motorcyclists involved in crashes increased to about 39 from 34 and the proportion of injured riders aged 40-plus rose to about 50 percent from 28 percent.

The study found that of all injured riders in the study, those aged 50 to 59 represented the fastest growing group, while 20 to 29-year-olds were the most rapidly declining.

"We made the clinical observation that older patients - people in their 50s, 60s and even 70s - were being injured on motorcycles with increasing frequency," Mark Gestring, director of the trauma program at the University of Rochester Medical Center, said in a statement.

"We wanted to see if this observation was true on a national level and we found that it was."

The study, published in the journal American Surgeon, found that for riders aged over 40, the severity of their injuries, length of stay in the hospital or intensive care unit, and mortality were higher than riders aged under 40.

Researchers also found that the risk of dying was one-and-a-half to two times more likely in riders over 40 based on the severity of the original injury.

Older riders were found to be more likely to die from less severe injuries than younger riders, to spend at least 24 hours in the intensive care unit, and to have more pre-existing health issues that led to longer hospital stays.

"Treating a 60-year-old who has been in a motorcycle accident is very different from treating a 21-year-old who has been in a similar accident -- 60-year-olds bring a lot more medical baggage with them, and this can adversely impact outcomes following injury," said Gestring.

"As people start to dust off their motorcycles this spring, older riders should take an extra measure of caution; if an accident happens they'll often pay a higher price than younger riders."

Joe Kinny, a longtime rider of BMW motorcycles (along with other European brands and a Buell) joined the Harley ranks last week with the purchase of a 2007 Super Glide.

You don't usually see serious riders like Joe, who owns a shop that produces custom parts for vintage bikes, jump to a Harley but he's been looking at the big bikes for a while with the thought of having something for long-range riding. His two BMW bikes are older models with a lot of miles on them.

But if I see him in a do-rag, I'm gonna get worried.

Jerry "Motorman" Palladino (above with associate Mary Ann Hamilton) puts on a hell of a show, demonstrating the low-speed handling techniques used by motorcycle police officers. His "Ride Like a Pro" DVDs are best sellers and have taught many riders how to handle their bikes at low speed.

He does, however, need to work on his geography. This past weekend, while appearing at the Virginia State Harley Owners Group rally in Roanoke, Palladino repeatedly told audiences that his wife Donna, who usually appears with him in shows, was in Texas because "our son is graduating this weekend from the Air Force Academy."

The Air Force Academy is in Colorado, not Texas, and graduation for the Class of 2009, was May 27, not this past weekend. The Air Force's Basic Military Training school (boot camp) is at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio but there is a big difference between going through the eight-and-a-half week BMT course as an enlisted man and four years at the Academy in Colorado Springs.

I tried to talk to Palladino after his show to ask him about moving the Air Force Academy from Colorado to Texas but there was a long line waiting to get his autograph and I had to sprint over to another part of the Sheraton Hotel parking lot help stage a ride.

Last year, a Motorcycle Safety Foundation trainer, who was one of the instructors at a Rider's Edge Course that my wife took at Shenandoah Valley Harley-Davidson, claimed Palladino had never been a motorcycle officer. She was from Florida, where Palladino's "Ride Like a Pro" operation is based.

I searched the 'Net to see if any others had questioned Palladino's credentials but found nothing to collaborate the MSF trainer's claim so I dismissed it as possible jealously on her part. I did find a St. Petersburg Times story from 2004 that identied Palladino, at that time, as a deputy with the Pasco County Sheriff's Department and his police motorcycle is visible in the photo that goes with the story so that proves he was a cop as claimed and did ride a police bike. A July 4, 2004, Tampa Tribune story about a new female motorcycle officer with the Pasco County Sheriff's Department notes she filled the vacancy left by Palladino's retirement from the department to he could devote more time to his "Ride Like a Pro" business.

A good showman sometime embellishes and I suspect Jerry was on a roll when he said his son was graduating from "The Air Force Academy" instead of basic training. Either way, his kid is serving his country. 

I'm also glad to discover the MSF instructor was lying about Palladino's credentials. Jerry's videos and classes do help many become better riders and he has done a lot to promote motorcycle safety and awareness.

(Updated June 23, 2009)

Harley-Davidson has put the screws to its "Screw it...Let's ride" ad campaign.

Seems the company has second thoughts about the image the campaign projects.

Image? Harley-Davison is second-guessing its image?

For years the company has cultivated an image that pushes the edge. A tv ad called "respect" (above) showed a rough-looking Harley rider showing up at a trailer while a young couple is in bed. When the woman looks out the window, she tells her bed-mate "it's him!"  The man in bed hides in the closet while the Harley rider comes into the bedroom and climbs into bed with the attractive blond. The camera zooms into a wedding photo on the night stand. The husband is the one hiding in the closet.

So the company that put that ad on the air now wants to clean up its image by cancelling the "screw it...let's ride" campaign?

When Harley goes politically correct we know times are tough.

Rabbit, a fellow member of the Roanoke Valley Harley Owners Group (RVHOG) passes out samples of "HOG Chili" Saturday at the annual chili cook off on Salem Avenue in downtown Roanoke, Virginia.

The roar of Harleys announces when the chili's ready and the crowd flocks to the "biker/chili bar" facade on the parking lot to sample the chili that rountinely wins the charity event in the Star City.

And they won again this year, taking First Place in the judging plus People's Choice, Best Booth and Best Presentation.

But face it. Would you refuse a sample of chili from a biker wearing a pig nose?

Not likely.