Motorcycle riding

[Nancy2feathers]

One piece of advice I didn't see mentioned here, which is very important, is to repeatedly tap your breaks (flash your break lights) when you're slowing down or stopping. The instructors called it "presentation." How you present yourself (bright colors, lights, loud engine) - what helps you to be seen. This allows the drivers behind you more opportunity to recognize you're even there, and that you're slowing down. I use it now even while driving my car since it's safe to assume most people are not paying as much attention as they should be while behind the wheel.

Good point Katie Jo! As a matter of fact there are replacement tail light bulbs that you can buy that automatically flash a few times when you hit the brakes and then stay lit solid after that. This way you can just use the brakes normally and the bulb does the flashing for you. Well worth it and usually easy enough to replace!

I know of people that replace the headlamp on their bike with a brighter one and ride with it on night and day. You really want to be seen! Also in NC, it seems to rain in sporadic areas at any given time. Carrying rain gear on the bike is always a good idea. :)

 

[samii]

A lot of good advice here
I learned the hard way from my mistakes :(

1. Progressively apply the brakes when stopping. never slam on the brakes even if its an emergency :O (don't know about abs)

2. Don't overtake cars at intersections, they might turn on you

3. Make sure you are on level road when you stop, dropped my bike once

4. Maintain you bike periodically. once my chain came off

5. Change the exhaust.

I know the last advice will not get a lot of approval, but believe me it makes a huge difference in safety when people can hear you a mile away ;D

 

[Voyageur]

One other thing came to mind. If you have an older bike, one without a kickstand electrical ignition interlock, meaning the bike will start with the kickstand down, this is an old and plentiful reason why bikes crash. The rider forgets to disengage the stand and all is fine until they take the first left hand corner (if the stand is on the left) wherein the stand hits the pavement - sometimes kicking back and releasing, and in the case of accidents, lifting the rear tire off the road just enough so that the stand acts as a pivot - the rest is not good.

As for riding with other vehicles in more open country settings, for me anyway, I never want to be hemmed in between vehicles. One can back off of course, yet vehicle interfacing might still affect ones safety e.g. cars will keep trying to get by you and that has implications. More often I'll pass someone when safe to do so so that the road is always as clear as possible ahead.

 

[Mark]

5. Change the exhaust.

I know the last advice will not get a lot of approval, but believe me it makes a huge difference in safety when people can hear you a mile away ;D

That can be a good or bad. Maybe some people hear you, maybe they dislike bikes and aim for you. It happens. Loud exhausts can also aggravate neighbors who enjoy a reasonably quiet environment. For example, me

As a side note: Sold my Harley over a dozen years ago and will not get back on a bike again unless I absolutely must do it. That's what can happen when you see a few other people's bike wrecks. I only had it for about a year and put less than 3000 miles on it, all slow riding on small roads, no highways. I saw a few very nasty wrecks after they occurred, and I don't need much of a hint in that department. I'm done!

 

[tempo]

You might also consider a scooter, which is what I drive.
You get about 90 - 110 mpg, and usually automatic transmission, so you won't be so distracted while you learn to drive on two wheels.
It works very well for urban travel. If you do go the scooter route, buy Taiwanese. Kymco's and PGO/Genuine Scooters are your best bet.

to lean is to actually push the handlebars against the direction of the lean

Also called countersteering, which you can look up on youtube for examples. I'm not sure if they teach you that in the motorcycle safety class.

I'd advise a windscreen/shield attachment, because getting hit in the neck with a pebble or bug is not very pleasant, especially at higher speeds.

Also, potholes are your enemy. Don't ride on streets that have them or memorize where they are on the streets you do ride on.
Never drive on an unknown road at night because a random pothole at a high enough speed is deadly.

Especially watch out for people entering the street from a parking lot, they often aren't looking.

And, buy a motorcycle tire repair kit. You only have two wheels, so when one is damaged, you can't go anywhere.

 

[samii]

As a side note: Sold my Harley over a dozen years ago and will not get back on a bike again unless I absolutely must do it. That's what can happen when you see a few other people's bike wrecks. I only had it for about a year and put less than 3000 miles on it, all slow riding on small roads, no highways. I saw a few very nasty wrecks after they occurred, and I don't need much of a hint in that department. I'm done!

I hear you. I was once also about to quit biking after seeing numerous accidents, but I always convinced myself it wouldn't happen to me. As I grew up I realize how lucky I am for not killing my self. And of course experience helps. To be honest I mainly ride for joy, not to save on gas or beat the traffic. Now I just consider that a bonus to justify riding.

 

[Timótheos]

5. Change the exhaust.

I know the last advice will not get a lot of approval, but believe me it makes a huge difference in safety when people can hear you a mile away ;D

That can be a good or bad. Maybe some people hear you, maybe they dislike bikes and aim for you. It happens. Loud exhausts can also aggravate neighbors who enjoy a reasonably quiet environment. For example, me

I have to agree with m on this one, loud frapping motorcycle exhausts are aggravating to anyone who enjoys peace and quiet and can be quite inconsiderate to neighbours and pedestrians. They are often associated with outlaw biker gangs and don't seem likely to aid in the overall safety and enjoyment of the experience. There are many other more effective ways to alert other drivers to your presence like driving defensively, staying out of blind spots, wearing reflective clothing, and using your horn if necessary.

Kinda like those lads who drive 4x4 trucks with giant tires in the city, I've always suspected that bikers with loud exhausts were overcompensating for something...

 

[tempo]

5. Change the exhaust.

I know the last advice will not get a lot of approval, but believe me it makes a huge difference in safety when people can hear you a mile away ;D

That can be a good or bad. Maybe some people hear you, maybe they dislike bikes and aim for you. It happens. Loud exhausts can also aggravate neighbors who enjoy a reasonably quiet environment. For example, me

I have to agree with m on this one, loud frapping motorcycle exhausts are aggravating to anyone who enjoys peace and quiet and can be quite inconsiderate to neighbours and pedestrians. They are often associated with outlaw biker gangs and don't seem likely to aid in the overall safety and enjoyment of the experience. There are many other more effective ways to alert other drivers to your presence like driving defensively, staying out of blind spots, wearing reflective clothing, and using your horn if necessary.

Kinda like those lads who drive 4x4 trucks with giant tires in the city, I've always suspected that bikers with loud exhausts were overcompensating for something...

From my experience, when people notice you on a two-wheeled vehicle, they tend to keep a further distance. I've never been tailgated by someone in a car since I've driven a scooter. In cars, that would happen all the time.

I've also noticed that I drive much differently on a motorcycle-ish vehicle. I'm paying much more attention to what traffic is doing around me, and I drive slower. I've driven a rental car since, and it's strange to notice how much more comfortable and inattentive I feel due to the semi-protective 'cage' that surrounds me. I assume that other drivers are just as inattentive or worse than that, but that's a part of defensive driving.

My worst fear on two wheels is the situation where you're stopped a traffic light and someone coming up behind you rear-ends you for no apparent reason, which has happened to me in a car.
But, there doesn't seem to be much you can do to prevent that, as far as I know, other than basic defensive driving techniques.

 

[MusicMan]

[...]
My worst fear on two wheels is the situation where you're stopped a traffic light and someone coming up behind you rear-ends you for no apparent reason, which has happened to me in a car.
But, there doesn't seem to be much you can do to prevent that, as far as I know, other than basic defensive driving techniques.

That has happened to me: Riding in the rain, and approaching traffic lights. The lights went red and I stopped, unfortunately the car behind me could not stop his heavy vehicle as quickly as I could stop my light motor-cycle, and he rear-ended me. Luckily for me he didn't hit me full on, just swerved and clipped my tail light, which came off, and came to rest with his fender against my leg, which got slightly bruised. The tail light ended up in the middle of the intersection, and it cost me just over $4 to repair the damage. I was very lucky.

Lesson learned: motor-bikes can stop more quickly than cars can.

 

[pete02]

[...]
My worst fear on two wheels is the situation where you're stopped a traffic light and someone coming up behind you rear-ends you for no apparent reason, which has happened to me in a car.
But, there doesn't seem to be much you can do to prevent that, as far as I know, other than basic defensive driving techniques.

That has happened to me: Riding in the rain, and approaching traffic lights. The lights went red and I stopped, unfortunately the car behind me could not stop his heavy vehicle as quickly as I could stop my light motor-cycle, and he rear-ended me. Luckily for me he didn't hit me full on, just swerved and clipped my tail light, which came off, and came to rest with his fender against my leg, which got slightly bruised. The tail light ended up in the middle of the intersection, and it cost me just over $4 to repair the damage. I was very lucky.

Lesson learned: motor-bikes can stop more quickly than cars can.

Well if you have the opportunity you can always stop to the side of the street instead of the middle. I have to drive in the city with a lot of traffic and most of the time that's what I'll do. If the car can't stop they can at least go around you. That's with the understanding that they see you of course. ;)

 

[Pierre]

Lesson learned: motor-bikes can stop more quickly than cars can.

According to several tests, bikes don't break better than cars. Beyond the breaking performance of the vehicle, the reaction time of the driver and the ability to perform emergency breaking are important factors to be considered.

 

[unkl brws]

l_autre_d - that is great you took the course! Last Summer I took a motorcycle safety class as well and found it to be a really great experience. Not only do I feel I could hop on a bike and take off if I needed to, but it also has made me that much more aware on the road as a driver of a car.

After I completed my course and received my endorsement I went out riding with a friend of mine who was more experienced. I rode his Suzuki Super Sherpa. I think it was a 250, but I really don't know. We road around for about 2 hours on multiple road types out in the country and ultimately stopped to fuel up at a small inn. I ended up dumping the bike right at the fuel pumps by taking too tight of a radial turn. In the process my leg was gouged by the foot pegs and I "rolled on" accidentally while trying to keep the bike from tipping. That could have spun that bike around and caused myself much more damage if it wasn't for my friend hitting the kill switch.

I tell this story because it's important to be aware of how quick something can go wrong with little experience. I really had a great time learning the ropes, and despite this scary first event riding out on the roads for the first time, I got back on the bike and road for another hour or more. It feels amazing.

I originally was interested because it's a useful skill, several of my friends have endorsements, AND, it is a good way to navigate the trail systems here where I live. I also must admit I watched the documentary Mondo Enduro about 7 fellas traveling on bike around the world, and that sounded pretty romantic as a possible future. As of currently, I haven't driven a motorcycle since. I just don't have one, though hard to say how much I would use it if I did.
-------
One piece of advice I didn't see mentioned here, which is very important, is to repeatedly tap your breaks (flash your break lights) when you're slowing down or stopping. The instructors called it "presentation." How you present yourself (bright colors, lights, loud engine) - what helps you to be seen. This allows the drivers behind you more opportunity to recognize you're even there, and that you're slowing down. I use it now even while driving my car since it's safe to assume most people are not paying as much attention as they should be while behind the wheel.

My 2 cents.

[edit for grammar]

Since you watched Mondo Enduro, you might be interested in viewing "Long Way Round" and "Long Way Down". These documentaries follow actors Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman on motorcycle trips around the world and from Scotland to South Africa.

http://<iframe width="560" height="...2M" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

http://<iframe width="560" height="...JM" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

[MusicMan]

Lesson learned: motor-bikes can stop more quickly than cars can.

According to several tests, bikes don't break better than cars. Beyond the breaking performance of the vehicle, the reaction time of the driver and the ability to perform emergency breaking are important factors to be considered.

That particular test included wet weather - it was bucketing down, and he might not have eyeballed me if he was looking at the traffic lights through a wet windscreen. So you may be right.

 

[Ben]

Lesson learned: motor-bikes can stop more quickly than cars can.

According to several tests, bikes don't break better than cars. Beyond the breaking performance of the vehicle, the reaction time of the driver and the ability to perform emergency breaking are important factors to be considered.

That particular test included wet weather - it was bucketing down, and he might not have eyeballed me if he was looking at the traffic lights through a wet windscreen. So you may be right.

He is right. Bikes may weigh less than other vehicles but they only have one disc brake with any real stopping power (the front), thus a greater stopping distance. The area of tyre contact with the road is minuscule compared to a car, not just because of the number of tyres but because of their particular shape. This is one of the most important things for people learning to ride a motorcycle to understand, when conditions are favourable that small area of contact provides remarkable grip (just watch a superbike rider with their knee down), but when they are not...

 

[kujo]

Since you watched Mondo Enduro, you might be interested in viewing "Long Way Round" and "Long Way Down". These documentaries follow actors Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman on motorcycle trips around the world and from Scotland to South Africa.

Hey thanks Bruce - I've heard of these titles, lots and lots of times, especially right after I got my endorsement. I think there are also memoirs written as well. Perfect fuel for the adventurous bike enthusiast. Mondo Enduro is surprisingly hard to get your hands on without paying a pretty penny for a copy, however, these docs you recommended might suffice for anyone interested in a "day-in-the-life" perspective. As for me, the romance of traveling continents on bike for funzies is long gone. It's just not practical, and I think risky business.