From:	"S. Oxley" <rda986n@*****.CC.MONASH.EDU.AU>
Subject:	None
Date:	Wed, 6 Oct 1993 11:32:57 +1000

Hello All!

As a long-term Shadowrun player, and motorcycle rider, I've decided to
put pen to paper (fingers to keys?) to produce a few rules supplements
for players doing berserke things on bikes. (Like 140mph thru a car-park
in the rain, dodging pedestrians whilst being chased by a go-gang _and_
Lone Star.) :-)

Condition Normal Riding Berserk Riding
Raining +1 +3
Pillion +1 +2
Saddlebags +1 (Fully loaded) +2 (Fully loaded)
Gearsack +1 (Fully loaded) +2 (Fully loaded)
(See below for a description of a GearSack)
Hailstorm +4 +8
Firing weapon:
Pistol +1 --
SMG +3 --
Anything Else -- --
Pillion Firing Weapon:
Pistol +1 --
SMG +2 --
Anything Else -- --

Notes:

All modifiers are cumulative. This means that it you're riding in the
rain, with a pillion, full saddlebags, and you're both firing SMGs, then
you're up for a grand +1+1+1+3+2 = +8 modifier.

A GearSack is a type of luggage carrier here in Australia that is mounted
on top of the bike, and the bag normally sits over the rear wheel (and
hence over the back of the bike) but most riders (myself included) put
the bag on backwards so that it rests on the pillion's seat. This brings
the weight closer to the centre of mass of the bike (which improves
handling).

Firing Weapons:

Under normal riding conditions, it is reasonably safe to take one hand off
the 'bars. This measn that you could fire a one-handed weapon (eg a pistol
or a small SMG) with reasonable accuracy. It is not possible to fire any
weapons when engaged in 'berserke mode' due to the simple fact that you
need both hands on the 'bars to control the bike.

Pillion Firing Weapons:

If your pillion (the passenger, to none-bike riding types) decides he/she
is going to rip off a few rounds at someone/something then there
is little effect, because you still have both your hands on the 'bars to
control the bike. Note that the pillion is again limited to small
fire-arms, due to the simple fact that there is not enough room on the back
of the bike to wave around anything larger. (Honda Gold-Wing riders may
disagree with me here. :-))

Bike Mounted Weapons:

Forget it. For a forward pointing weapon, you need to aim the bike
directly at the target, and the recoil from anything larger than an SMG
will wreck the handling.

There, the modifications have been run up the flagpole. I'm waiting to see
who salutes. Of course, any comments by other bike riders are more than
welcome.

Steve