Share your Riding Tips with others!

[Media Weasel]

Now that I've had some time...

Watch the wheels of vehicles that are either
a) preparing to turn left from an oncoming lane
b) turning right into your lane/traffic direction
In both cases, weaving slightly left-to-right will assist a vehicle driver in seeing you. A study out of Britain deduced that most of the car/motorcycle collisions involved the one of the two above failure-to-yield scenarios. In most cases, the driver “didn’t see” the motorcycle. The study deduced that the human brain has difficulties isolating an oncoming bike rider, and suggested that a horizontal “jigging” adds a directional vector that allows for easier perception.

Corollary to above: when approaching an intersection where there’s a cager about to turn left from the oncoming lane, arc to the right. This will not only give you some x-axis (horizontal) motion to aid perception, but also add some space to work with if the idiot does try a turn. (In most cases like this, the jerk will see you at the last moment then hit the brakes, thus blocking most/all available space. Ergo, the more space you have to start with, the better.)

Practice low-speed skills often.

Right of way is a concept – not a universal law. Just because you SHOULD have the right of way, doesn’t mean others will let you have it. Just because you SHOULD have the right of way, doesn’t mean you should take it. If a car/truck bullies you, let ‘em. It’s not worth risking your life/health for four-10 seconds.

Practice emergency braking techniques regularly. This includes highways. Know how long it’s going to take your beast to stop at a given speed – then never ride at speed that will require a greater stopping distance than you can see.

Take the right-hand lane or centre when going into a partly-obscured left-hand turn. You never know when some truck is over the line coming the other way.

Take the right-hand or centre lane when going over a blind hill. Same as above.

Assume that most drivers can’t see you – and that if they can, they *will* try to run you over.

Learn how to ride while standing the pegs. This will help if you have to go over some obstacle in the road.

Never ride in a blind spot of a cager unless you’re moving through.

Check your air pressure once per week. Carry an air-pressure gauge. Check the pressure before you ride, or within two km/one mile while tires are cold. A tire that’s 5 PSI below factory spec will suffer losses/changes in handling.

Never, ever, ever stunt/trick on public roads.

ATGATT. Even for the trip to the corner store.

If you’re lost/disoriented, STOP and refocus. Driving around when you don’t know when you’re going will cause your brain to focus more on navigation than on appropriate driving and thus increase the chances of a “dumb tourist move.”

[BusaEater]

Try and remain calm, cool, and collected when a wasp gets trapped in your helmet while riding and is still alive and angry...


...and on a similar note....don't leave your helmet outside for all the little critters of the night to find refuge in and suprise you on the next days ride.

[beemer_scoot]

About half of all motorcycle fatalities are self inflicted. The worst thing you can do is kill yourself.

*Never tailgate!
*A deer near the side of the road ahead means that you need to slow down NOW! (I actually watched a friend behind me that didn't do this).
*Stay alert in curves! This is the easiest place to leave the pavement.
*Never ride beyond your capabilities. If you're not a pro, don't act like one.
*Never ride beyond the capabilities of your bike! This is mainly for the cruiser riders. Remember those bikes can't corner like a motorcycle, you have to slow down for curves.

[olebiker]

I know this has not been posted to for a while but I just have to add. Always ride your own ride. Never try and follow others riders at a pace that is uncomfortable for you. I have seen to many people run right off the road by trying to follow the person in front. If riding in a large group or just two of you this is really important. My wife and I often ride together she is a good rider well trained and quite competent. She has 4 or 5 yrs riding experience. She knows that if the mood strikes me I will be off like the devil is on my tail. I never worry that she will try and follow and get in over her head. My level of experience and level of risk acceptance would make that very dangerous for her. If she didn't ride her own ride I would soon not want to ride with her any more. I am very picky about who I ride with. I will not ride with anyone that will get too close to me. I will move around my lane if I need to and no one is going to take away my protection of being able to ride my way out of trouble.

[dkpdude]

I flash my brake light at approaching vehicles coming from the rear to help them see me.

[redwing]

I'm 57 and have driven a car since I was 16, 41 years. And mostly in Houston traffic. I worked for Hertz for perhaps 3 years around 86' driving 300 plus miles daily in Houston traffic.
I recall hearing not to turn your wheels to the left when waiting to make a left turn. Because if rear ended the force would push the car into on-coming traffic. A pushed foot or two might make a difference.
So I look for autos stopped to make a left turn with their wheels turned left. An even greater danger.
David Hough mentions watching the wheels of cars and watching the hood to see if it rises indicating acceleration. Or watching a stopped auto's hood, if it rises then the car is moving. And as mentioned earlier the wheels turning indicating movement.

Also
When a car on my left pulls out onto the road I look at the wheels to see if it has the correct angle to make the turn. (me north - car south)

six hundred eighty six miles on my R and counting

[society909]

I thought I would pass on a few things to watch for when you are riding whether you are a new or experienced rider. Whenever you stop at a red light or stop sign watch out for oil spots in the road. I didn't see one a few weeks ago and put my foot right into it and my foot almost slid right out from under me. At least I was able to get enough traction to shift my weight to the other side. After that I had the same problem at the next stop because the bottom of my shoe was still oil covered. Also if you ever get caught in the rain and you will those white lines at the intersections are a lot slicker than bare wet pavement Never forget where your brakes are and be very careful of the front brake in loose gravel dirt or sand.
If your bike don't have a loud enough horn get a louder one. Whenever you around traffic or have a car in the lane beside you have your finger ready to hit the horn button. If you can't be seen be heard