Oil Drippings: News and Opinion

By Bud Wilkinson of RIDE-CT.com

If you’re a rider who always wears a helmet, have you ever stopped for gas and gone inside to give the cashier money without removing it? A 26-year-old rider in Scotland has been banned from a Tesco gas station for doing just that. All Leanne Wright wanted last Friday was five pounds of petrol. “The Falkirk Herald” has the story here. The only place that I’ve noticed a prohibition on helmets was at a Shell station on East Main Street in Torrington, but perhaps it’s more common than I realize.

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It’s probably fair to say we’ve all rolled on the throttle and exceeded the speed limit at one time or another. Riding “five-over” or “10-over” the posted limit is routine, right? A new law in China, which replaced one which punished illegal street racers with fewer than 15 days in jail, has raised the stakes. Now if you get caught racing you could be put to death. Yes, the death penalty for speeding. The “Deccan Herald” in Bangalore has the story here about two riders in Shangahi who got nabbed.

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Kawasaki is recalling 2012 Ninja 250R, Ninja 650 and Versys models built between Sept. 13 and Oct. 25, 2011 to replace faulty footpegs. The company says engine vibrations as well as damage during the manufacturing process could cause circlips on the footpeg mounting pins to break and the footpegs to fall off.  The circlips will be replaced free of charge.