Nicolas said:
trendsetter37 said:
You may have heard this in you motorcycle course but if you didn't I would warn against the following: Driving on the center painted lines in the middle of the road. They are slippery (especially if you have something with a lot of torque) and tend to accumulate loose gravel. Again they are slippery because of the paint AND the gravel. If you find yourself on them don't panic just don't make any sudden or jerky maneuvers. Just slowly exit that area of the road. Another one would be to avoid riding behind large trucks. Getting hit with bugs hurt but gravel is much worse lol. And lastly practice in an empty parking lot. A lot! You will want to get your muscle memory up and running so that there is less thinking and mental effort involved if you do find yourself in a hairy situation on the road.
Also avoid the middle of a lane. It accumulates oil and grease that drip from cars (especially at intersections) and when it starts to rain it can be very slippery.
I also rode motorcycles a lot when I was younger in all kinds of weather. But now-a-days it is not very practical. It would be more for leisure if I still had one.
Just adding: I've always enjoyed motorcycles and have ridden them, I'd say, for a good 45+ years. They can be super dangerous of course, requiring constant awareness, and yet they can be incredibly enjoyable and stable, while offering economy, and fantastic views of the environs.
The points above concerning the center line is important (and other points). I'm sure people have noticed also that some people like to ride in packs, and there are always a few who seem to like to hog the center line - as it happens, being struck by a mirror from an oncoming vehicle or making a critical misjudgement with no way out happens; so both are not good practices, with the former being that if one in the pack goes down, it usually results in more going down. The other thing is spring riding before gravels are swept up from the winter season that congregates on the road dew-line. This can catch many people unaware, and can also be attributed to accidents when one corners wrongly e.g. when one is caught going too wide on an outer corner and has to fight the physics to overcome the speed and the bikes lean - to lean is to actually push the handlebars against the direction of the lean, so one always needs plenty of road. One other thing I could mention, is the diminished light when riding at both dawn and dusk hours - try and avoid if possible, and if not, watch the ditch-lines for animals instead of just the road - a good practice regardless is to be always be moving your vision around, trying to take as much as possible of the environment in.
Typically, I ride mostly in the country and take it very easily in cities - giving myself lots of room, knowing that, as was said above by others, people just don't see you and they will take you out if not totally focused. In this respect, don't rely on lights, make eye contact with the other driver. Know your bike, each gear, switch, indicator so that it is automatic and you are not thinking about what it does while trying to focus on the road.
Riding is balance, so for those starting, a good way (if in the country) is to start with a trials bike - low gearing, low speed, with emphasis on balance - clutch and brake work. my 2 cents.
Just caught your post, too, MusicMan - exactly.