Shoei Helmet Donation Funds Critical Braking Portion of MSF 100 Motorcyclists Naturalistic Study

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Shoei Helmet Donation Funds Critical Braking Portion of MSF 100
Motorcyclists Naturalistic Study
From the September, 2011 issue of Motorcyclist

IRVINE, Calif., Sept. 12, 2011 - It was with the generous support of Shoei
Safety Helmet Corp. that the Motorcycle Safety FoundationR was able to
include braking instrumentation in its unprecedented, one-year-long MSF 100
Motorcyclists Naturalistic Study. Designed to provide comprehensive,
real-time, routine-riding, near-crash, pre-crash and actual-crash data that
is currently unavailable, the study was launched earlier this month and is
sponsored by MSF and administered by Virginia Tech Transportation Institute
(VTTI). This ground-breaking research will track 100 participant-owned
motorcycles for one year and approximately 500,000 total miles, and the
braking data is a critical part of the overall study.

In June, the MSF received from Shoei a donation of 2,100 premium X-Twelve
helmets with an MSRP of approximately $700 each. Those helmets were then
offered to the MSF's national rider training network for a nominal fee for
use by both RiderCoaches and students during MSF RiderCourses. A portion of
the proceeds provided a mid-five-figure investment that was used to fund the
recently added braking portion of the MSF 100 Motorcyclists Naturalistic
Study.

"Whether riders effectively brake in emergency situations is a persistent
question in the motorcycling community," said VTTI Research Scientist Shane
McLaughlin. "There appears to be evidence that if riders brake, they more
commonly use too much rear brake and too little front brake to get the most
out of their motorcycle's braking ability. We've equipped the participating
motorcycles with sensors that monitor rider input to the front brake lever
and foot brake, and this will provide the first-ever measures of how riders
brake during real-world, short-reaction-time, critical maneuvers."

Each motorcycle in the MSF 100 Motorcyclists Naturalistic Study will be
equipped with extensive Data Acquisition Systems (DAS), which include
braking pressure sensors that determine whether the rider is using the front
or rear brake. Another sensor measures the actual braking force. Also
included in the DAS are five color cameras, a GPS, accelerometers, gyro,
forward radar, machine vision lane tracker and more.

"Shoei and the MSF share the same goal," said Shoei President Hiro
Mizushima. "That is to help protect motorcyclists. Shoei does this by
developing the best head protection available and MSF does this with the
best rider training curriculum and innovative research. We are pleased that
the helmets we donated will be used in their rider training and also that
the helmet donation resulted in such an important contribution to the MSF
100 Motorcyclists Naturalistic Study."

Three different locations will be used for outfitting, tracking and data
collection from the 100 motorcycles over the coming year. In addition to
VTTI in Virginia, the other data collection facilities are the MSF
headquarters in Irvine, Calif., and the Motorcycle Mechanics Institute (MMI)
in Orlando, Fla. According to the MSF, these locations are ideal because
they offer a variety of riding conditions and traffic densities.

The Motorcycle Safety FoundationR promotes safety through rider training and
education, operator licensing tests and public information programs. The MSF
works with the federal government, state agencies, the military and others
to offer training for all skill levels so riders can enjoy a lifetime of
safe, responsible motorcycling. Standards established by the MSFR have been
recognized worldwide since 1973.

The MSF is a not-for-profit organization sponsored by BMW, BRP, Ducati,
Harley-Davidson, Honda, Kawasaki, KTM, Piaggio, Suzuki, Triumph, Victory and
Yamaha. For safety information or to enroll in the RiderCourse(SM) nearest
you, visit http://www.msf-usa.org/ or call (800) 446-9227.


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