Add Your Safe Riding Tips

[OB_Dirty Pete]

terra 1: That's a damn nice thing to do.

Nobody did it for me, but then bike schools didn't exist in the 1840s.

I simple don't know know how I made it alive through my first 5 years on bikes. We were freaking crazy and totally ignorant back when we were 18.

Not a soul told me anything about how to ride safe and fast. Not the government. Not my Dad who also rode bikes. Not even the cops who frequently chased me.

I plan to mentor my brand new daughters (ages 3 and 4) into becoming safe, then fast riders.

 

[sherm]

This is an oddball one. One day driving my car I was about to make a left turn and I saw two bikes comimg towards me about 1/4 mile away. One bike had high beams on and the other low beams. I instinctively assumed the bike with the high beams was the closest to me (brighter light - closer), and focused on that bike to judge if I had enough clearance to make the turn. It turned out the bike with the low beams was closer and I had to bring my left turn to a screeching halt - no contact occurred. From this experience I would recommend that, when riding in a group,
the lead keeps high beams on and the followers stay on low beams.

 

[OB_BigPete]

That's illegal in UK & Europe......you can only use high beam when no other traffic is visible.....and thus no-one can be dazzled.....which could cause an accident.

 

[OB_Cisco San Jose]

continue!!!
1.If you don't own a Harley check your blinker after making your turn cause most bikes don't have self canceling blinkers except the new Harley's.Why don't the other motorcycle makers add this to their bikes?
2.Carry a cell phone,I was told in California even if you don't active service for a cell phone it will still dial 911 and work,so now you don't have to pay for service if you're calling in on a traffic harzard"life or limb type issue" or accident.Don't quote me on this but check with your State's cellular service and see if this option is turned on for none active cell phone.Oh ya keep your cell phone battery charged.

 

[Guest]

Another well done posting! Thanx emattson.

My 2 cents.

Pay attention to the cargo on trucks ahead of you. I was almost creamed by a 40 ton piece of steel plate when the trailer disconnected at 70mph. I almost had a 500 lb cow when one fell off a farm truck. Almost had a couple of 16' 2x12's as toothpicks. Hay bales are a big one on I-283 in PA. They explode when they hit the highway and wet hay is slippery as grass. We've all been hit by gravel falling off construction trucks but how about a lawn chair falling off a pickup that was moving furniture.

We've had some discussion in earlier posts about guns, knives etc. I submit that a cell phone is by far the best weapon. You can't believe how thoroughly you can screw over the trucker who ran you off the road by calling the police, then calling information with the name of the trucking company plastered on his back door. Then call and demand to speak to the president of the trucking company. And it's all legal as long as you tell the truth (don't slander).
As Cisco just said. A cell phone is a useful safety tool.


[This message has been edited by Lyle (edited 25 August 1999).]

 

[viol8r]

I believe I read in the safety book that comes with the hayabusa about the 2 second rule,that is, not to keep your eyes on any one object for more than 2 seconds. I find myself liking that. If you see debris on the road keep looking because you may see more. I usually ride on the center line side of the lane so vehicles pulling out of side roads and driveways on the right can see me,unless theres a long line of traffic coming toward me and it looks like someone may want to pass,then I move over to the shoulder side of the lane so oncoming cars behind other cars can see me and I keep my eye balls peeled for vehicles pulling out on the right.

 

[viol8r]

Forgot about up here in the northern part of the u.s. female deer are going to be coming into heat,so there's going to be a lot more action in the day time.

 

[OB_Boss]

Rear Brake Has Great Effect,Depending On Situation ??????. If you are loaded and two up with heaps of weight on rear wheel believe me your back brake is and will retard forward motion,with great effect.If practiced and correct FEEL is learnt then front and rear braking will pull you up quicker than using front only.Theory of brakes !!!!!!!! convert kinetic energy to heat energy......3 discs dissapate heat quicker than two.......in short if its available use it.......or should I say learn how to use it if you don't. Boss

 

[OB_Boss]

Sorry just an added thought on rear brake use rather surprised at amount of people who do not use rear brake has me thinking ....and to add,when Mick Doohan road with an injured leg Honda went to the trouble of building a rear brake set up that he could operate from the handle bars.Now thats a lot of trouble and cost to go to for as some seam to think is no advantage ??????.
Ah and then some will say but that is on a race track,true but my point is I don't care if I am on the track or the street the shorter the distance I can stop in is the way for me because it can mean the difference between pulling up and cursing to laying there and dying. Boss

 

[OB_Dirty Pete]

Boss, when Mick Doohan came to understand that he had basically lost the use of his right leg, he said, and I quote "It's OK, that leg is basically along for the ride."

I don't know any road racers who use rear brake. But then I don't always speak to every racer about braking technique. Every guy I have spoken to, including members of the Canadian Superbike circuit, say "I never touch it."

Mick Doohan's new handlebar rear brake set up, I would guess, is there so that he can keep using his extreme mid-corner rear-brake induced slides for earlier powering out of corners, flat track style. He rarely does it...only when traffic conditions demand it.

I agree with you about rear braking with a heavy rear load or passenger on. I very rarely carry a passenger (less than 1% of the time), and I don't ever carry luggage, so it wasn't even in my mind. I guess I should have restricted my comments to solo riding situations.

Has anybody got any special safety guidelines for two up riding? I don't know much about it.

[This message has been edited by Dirty Pete (edited 27 August 1999).]

 

[OB_Mr Bear]

I agree Falconer, I use both brakes pretty much all the time, except for the VERY rare smoky burnout. But I want to control it, not have the machine try to do it for me. Score another one for the 'Busa.

 

[OB_RobBase]

Here's one especially for the guys in the east, when riding in rural areas at dusk, sunset, night, definitely watch out for deer not just in the middle of the road but also on the sides of the road. They are unpredictable and most will bolt away from you but some will jump right in front of you. My friends dad totaled a 87 Chevy Caprice doing 65mph when he hit a 160lb buck. Amazing when you consider the car weighs almost 2 tons.
Also definitely steer clear of vehicles with strange loads on them. A couple of years back , myself and 6 other guys all on bikes were riding in PA and wound up behind a car with 7 mattresses stacked on the roof of his car. While we were gawking/laughing at the sight of it we were also picking up speed and when we and the car hit about 45 mph, the wind force broke the kite string holding them to the roof of his car and all the mattresses flew up in the air like a deck of cards. We were following sort of close and everybody had to swerve like a bunch of maniacs to avoid having a mattress land on them. It was pretty funny since we all made it in one piece but I'll never make that same mistake again!

 

[OB_emattson]

OK... How about some tips when riding in groups of bikes. The group I ride with is the same for the past 5 years. I know their styles as well as my own. We do ride with a new addition to the group occasionally. Here are a few of ours:
1. Ride staggered in the lane.
2. a few bike lengths between each bike.
3. At speed, we do a quick double tap on the brake (just enough to activate the brake light) if the lead rider notices any type of hazard.<saved all of us lots of times!!!>
4. We use lots of pre-defined hand signals.

And some of yours. This is going to be a great post. I plan on putting it on my website once it's complete.
Thanks to all,
Nailz

 

[Guest]

Above and beyond the usual safety stuff there are lots of subtle things we can do to be safe. Like "listening" to your machine. Listen, feel, smell, and look at your bike. Anything that changes needs to be investigated. A new rattle might be something getting ready to fall off. A dab of Locktite and a turn will keep the fairing from tearing off at speed. The puddle of oil underneath? , the hot smell? , growing engine noise means perhaps a forgotten oil change. A changing feel of clutch or brake can be indicative of a coming failure. Lots of breakdowns and dangerous situations can be avoided by "listening" and being attentive to your bike.

 

[Guest]

Lyle, have you been riding Harley's again?

 

[Guest]

Another of my dumb questions. What's the feeling of the group about front/rear braking? By MSF training and habit I use both in all situations. I try to be gentle on the rear one but I use it and the front at all times. I have read something in another web site that questions the MSF philosophy. Also comments above are making me wonder. I'm talking about panic stops on pavement here. Not race corner braking either.

What do y'all think?

 

[OB_Boss]

MMMMMMMMM guess we ride different here in Oz
now let me see how many Australians are there in the race championships,rear brake will always settle bike........ sorry to disagree .....but then thats what makes the world go round!!!!!!!.Tips on duel riding....remember your pillion does not have bars to hang on to and keep in mind if they out weigh you then their movement on bike can cancel out your input.....so don't scare them or you could regret it ....Boss

 

[OB_Dirty Pete]

Regarding the front brake issue:

In the best of worlds, I WOULD use the front and rear brakes together all the time, and it may be the right thing for many riders to do.

As you observed, proper modulation of both is theoretically the best way to reduce speed without upsetting the suspension.

However it's not for me for two reasons:

1. I am into reducing the rider workload by all means possible. It's the Keith Code way.
The less I have to think about, the safer and faster I am. A cost/benefit analysis of using the rear brake tells me that the cost of increased rider workload is not worth the benefit of the small percentage of incremental stopping power and suspension settling that the rear brake can give me.

2. I am absolutely dedicated to never using my brakes while I'm in a corner. I religiously complete my braking in a straight line with progressive braking to keep the suspension's composure. Then I dump into the corner and stay with it on neutral throttle until I'm ready to power out.

To reduce the unsettling effects of dive, I keep the front suspension very hard.

I think that allowing yourself the habit of using the rear brake puts you at risk in an emergency braking situation. It's so tough under extreme stress to apply the right foot pressure so as to not lock up the rear. Every instinct tells you to apply max input to all the controls you're using. IF you do lock up the rear, you've got no steering and you are VERY likely to be high-sided if you attempt to steer and the rear slides out under lock-up.

And rear wheel lock-up is virtually "invisible" to the rider in straight line emergency braking. The rear wheel's braking effect is so minimal that the rider literally has no way to know that his rear is locked-up. Until he tries to turn.

Your front tire will always do 85% (or more) of your braking, no matter how good you get at using your rear. 85% of your bike's stopping power is massive power...about 300 hp worth of reverse thrust (That figure is from my memory and is not be relied on. The engineers in the group will be able to tell us more accurately how braking power is measured in horsepower).

85% is more than enough. Why risk ruin for the remain 15%?



[This message has been edited by Dirty Pete (edited 27 August 1999).]

 

[OB_emattson]

Dirty Pete,
I agree with you on the braking before cornering (I believe braking is the most over looked skill in motorcycling). I do use my back brake though. Just as you stated, it settles the suspension and makes for smoother stops. You bring out a very good point about emergency braking and the chance of locking the rear wheel. I must admit I have not given that scenerio much thought. Something to practice in my nightly rides.
Thanks,
Nailz

 

[OB_Cisco San Jose]

My 89 Gsxr-1100 had it's front brake pads replaced 7 times before being sold in 98 and my back brake pads was replaced before I handed the bike to it's new owner,the back brakes weren't worn but I wanted the new owner to have new front and back brake pads before taking ownership.Hate using back brakes, down shift and front brakes only for me plus a good set of tires.