Riding 101

unfetteredmight · 06-08-2009, 1:00 AM

Wanted to start this thread, per jhaggerty73 comment, as a place for new riders like me to get some tips from the more seasoned and professional riders here. So step up, feel free to post your two cents. Your tip may one day save mine or another rider's life.

BurtonF166 · 06-08-2009, 1:02 AM

when in the city, stick to the left hand lane, youre more visible and have more time to re-act to cars turning infront of you. On the highway, the right lane until you pass, then merge into the left lane to leave as much room as possible.
With 900cc, get in 2nd gear asap, if you hit a pothole, she wont come up immediately.

shakey1378 · 06-09-2009, 9:07 PM

i do alot of commuting on my blade. knowing where you belong on the road is key to survival. safest place to be depends on what kind of road and what the traffic patterns are like. but its almost always the safest in the rightside of the lane furthest to the left. in the right lane its easier for things to pull out unexpected. and try to make a habit to not linger next to cars and trucks cause they tend to drift sideways when not paying attention. if you are gunna pass someone make sure they can see you in there mirror. basically stay out of there blindspots!

ride often, wear all your gear, and have fun!

wrong section btw this belongs in "new rider orientation"

unfetteredmight · 06-09-2009, 9:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shakey1378

wrong section btw this belongs in "new rider orientation"

My apologies, I didn't realize there was a forum for this. Guess I should look next time huh, lol? Thanks for the tip.

KSJNX · 06-09-2009, 9:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shakey1378

i do alot of commuting on my blade. knowing where you belong on the road is key to survival. safest place to be depends on what kind of road and what the traffic patterns are like. but its almost always the safest in the rightside of the lane furthest to the left. in the right lane its easier for things to pull out unexpected. and try to make a habit to not linger next to cars and trucks cause they tend to drift sideways when not paying attention. if you are gunna pass someone make sure they can see you in there mirror. basically stay out of there blindspots!

ride often, wear all your gear, and have fun!

wrong section btw this belongs in "new rider orientation"

good advice! road conditions will influence your decision on where to ride, but I prefer staying as close to the center of the road as possible without being in the oil spots / wear lines from car tires. This will generally give more "play room" if a vehicle starts crossing your path on either side and offers best overall visibility. traffic dictates this as well though. Sometimes when crossing an intersection I will use a vehicle as a make shift shield, staying at pace with the car in the lane next to me, making sire to stay in the drivers line of sight. If I am not mistaken, the majority of accidents in which a motorcycle is hit by a vehicle is when a vehicle does not yield to a motorcycle when the car is turning left, crossing the road and t-boning the motorcycle.

shakey1378 · 06-09-2009, 9:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KSJNX

good advice! road conditions will influence your decision on where to ride, but I prefer staying as close to the center of the road as possible without being in the oil spots / wear lines from car tires. This will generally give more "play room" if a vehicle starts crossing your path on either side and offers best overall visibility. traffic dictates this as well though. Sometimes when crossing an intersection I will use a vehicle as a make shift shield, staying at pace with the car in the lane next to me, making sire to stay in the drivers line of sight. If I am not mistaken, the majority of accidents in which a motorcycle is hit by a vehicle is when a vehicle does not yield to a motorcycle when the car is turning left, crossing the road and t-boning the motorcycle.

spot on, ride in the wheel tracks never in the "slick" center of the lane. make sure you always have an escape plan cause absolutely anything can happen. i can actually recall a time i was getting off a major highway exit and i got swooped by a rather large hawk. i was haulin arse and the damn bird almost took my head off...

KSJNX · 06-09-2009, 10:01 PM

well shakey not sure if this is a problem in your neck of the woods, but on some of our two lane roads because they are traveled so excessively the tires on vehicles wear down the pavement. creating lines that are lower than the rest of the asphalt. these lines are generally not an issue to ride in, unless it gets wet. then water accumulates in the lines and you have more of a chance of hydroplaning.

and as mentioned, always have an escaple plan. try to be ready for what might happen, not what you are sure is going to happen.

shakey1378 · 06-09-2009, 11:03 PM

ever been to nj. between nj and new york we have some of the worst roads with the biggest ego maniac drivers around. unfortunately

but yeah some places i ride i have literally memorized where the pot holes are laid out so i could pick up the pace "reasonably" of course

without worrying about getting thrown over the front or a tire or fork seal blow out

unfetteredmight · 06-09-2009, 11:18 PM

You know it's interesting, I've spent the last three weeks poking around the neighborhood just to get used to the balance and control of the bike. Now the last two days I've ventured out into slightly more traveled roads. On both days I've had as many people driving cars slightly jerk their car onto a truer path in their lane, because they weren't paying attention and saw me late enough to "frighten" them.

Also, everyone that's gotten behind me (except one) insists on riding close enough I swear I could jump off my bike onto their hood. I just don't get it, I mean what if I were to have a bad blow out? Promptly throwing me to the ground so you can run your car over me because you can't stop in time. I don't know, I've just always given bikers a wide berth, long before I ever decided to get one. But then again driver's licenses are too easy to get in my opinion, far too many driver's on the road that don't belong there.

Starting to feel like riding a motorcycle is like floating down the amazon on a log with a swarm of piranha under you ready to take your life the second you give them the chance.

ghbzorro · 06-10-2009, 12:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by unfetteredmight

Starting to feel like riding a motorcycle is like floating down the amazon on a log with a swarm of piranha under you ready to take your life the second you give them the chance.

Aaahhh. So now you get it

The Gerd · 07-18-2009, 9:48 PM

Tailgaters are a big problem in Cali, I'm not gonna lie and say it doesnt happen to me, if I do get an ass sniffer I just pull away and get out of the lane I was in, signaling well before I change lanes so the dick behind me doesnt try to change into my escape lane. If traffic is bad I'll actually slow down to get a good gap between me and the guy in front of me and just pray the dude behind me is paying attention. As a last ditch ordeal I split lanes, its not illegal in Cali as there is no law against it, but yoou do take your life into your own hands at that point.