Simple Riding Tips for Safety and/or Comfort

I thought I would give this idea a try. The concept is simple:

In 3 sentences or less, share with us any riding tip you have acquired in your experience that you feel makes your ride safer and/or more comfortable. It doesn't matter where you learned it (MSF, premonition, Aunt Jenny, whatever). If this thread takes off, it could turn into a "tip of the day" thing, giving all of us something to learn (or re-learn) that might help us. With the knowledge on this forum, I imagine we will all eventually take something away.

I'll kick it off:

When I am riding in heavy traffic, and the upcoming stale green signal turns yellow, I over brake heading into the intersection while staring in my mirror. I'm looking for a pronounced dip in the front end of the vehicle behind me to ensure that he/she has seen me and is slowing down. If no such dip is identified, I've got a little more road in front of me to stretch the stop out, and I can always start waiving my left arm and pump my brake light at 'em.

I do the exact same thing, Pants. It definitely gets their attention.

When approaching a vehicle that appears to be preparing to turn across the road in front of me or to be entering the road in front of me from a side road I will intiate a slight counter-steer weave. I hope the cage operator says something like, "Look at that idiot", to his passenger. The key part of that is "Look."

IMO, the most important safety tip of them all is "keep your head in the game."

Motorcycles are merciless. Get distracted, and bad things happen.

Mine is cliche: Ride your own ride. Trying to impress others with your riding is a fool's errand. Likewise with trying to keep up with a group that is riding beyond your limits. First, nobody is impressed. Unless you're Marc Marquez. Then they're damn impressed, even if you are riding a stinky old Honda. Second, if you crash while trying to keep up with a group, it may be a while before they notice. Besides, they'll wait for you at the next intersection or fork in the road to ensure you know where they're going. Just sit back and enjoy the ride.

If I'm riding in traffic that's so heavy that I can't maintain a comfortable distance between myself and the car ahead of me (in this situation cagers around here will dart into an opening that's barely sufficient if they think that lane is moving 1/2 mph faster than the lane they are leaving), I follow in one of the tracks of the car ahead of me as opposed to the center of the lane. If there is any debris (muffler, chunk of firewood, semi tire, etc.) in the center of the lane, I would be on it with no warning if I were centered in that lane. If I'm following in one of the tracks of the vehicle ahead of me and the debris is there, I'll have some warning when he swerves to avoid it. Any time I see another vehicle do something that doesn't seem logical to me, I'm on high alert until I figure out what's going on with them.

Grip the tank with your knees and keep your upper body loose and relaxed.

Work the throttle like a surgeon. Be aware of every 1% increment.

Realize that no matter how many miles we have in the saddle, we never stop perfecting our riding techniques.

OldButNotDead said:

IMO, the most important safety tip of them all is "keep your head in the game."Motorcycles are merciless. Get distracted, and bad things happen.

Click to expand...

Absolutely, plus be aware, be very aware of what is going on all around you and be prepared for 'worst case' scenarios. Ride with an almost 'sixth sense'.

Remember, There is no such thing as one deer.

Repeat as necessary.

Squirrels hardly make a bump. Don't swerve to avoid them, just enjoy.

Update your escape route every few seconds. And like Pterodactyl, I do a little "weave" to make myself a bigger target to be seen. Never ride blind corners faster than you can react.

When presented with a panic, butt-clenching situation, Look where you want to go...not at what may "bite you", whether it be a guard rail in a decreasing radius turn, a car that just pulled in front of you, etc.

Look at where you want to go...because you are more inclined to go where you and your head are looking.

Could be the slim amount of difference you need to survive.

Look where you want to go, do NOT look at what you don't want to hit. There is never only one Deer or Elk. Moose are BIG, duck if you have to.

Don't forget that no one can see you. Argue with cagers at gas stations and food stops. Never on the road. Plan the Ride, Ride the Plan. etc.

Never trust those sharing the pavement with you....

The brakes on my bike are excellent, but alas I am not. Always maintain at least 3 seconds of following time between me and whatever is in front of me. I do not want to be at fault in a rear end collision, especially if it kills me.

Great thread!

Mine, which I probably heard here, but which I think about always and repeat often:

Assume everyone on the road with you is actively trying to kill you. If you put yourself in a position where it's as difficult as possible for them to do so (i.e. not in their blind spot, not stopped at an intersection with no escape route), you have a better chance of surviving to ride the next ride.

Always take notice of your sixth sense. If you feel at all uneasy about something, take notice, even if you have no idea why you feel that way. You may well have picked up some clue with your subconcious.

This has save me on more than one occasion, wrote one such here.

At intersections, look INTO the car and note where the driver is looking. If she's not looking at you, cover your brakes and your horn.

If the car in front does something weird, (brakes, accelerates, swerves, changes lane quickly, etc) there is a reason and I've got milliseconds to figure out why.

When you have a close call, or even an accident, learn to admit your own mistakes. Only then can you learn from them.

No matter whose fault it was legally, it's seldom 100% the other guy's fault. What could you have done to reduce the risk, or how could you have handled it better?

Coming up on a car that's waiting to put out onto the street as I approach, I once read that the best way to get some forewarning that the car is beginning to move forward is by watching the front wheel of the car. I take a quick look to see the driver's face too, but especially on a motorcycle, he could be looking right through you, even if you think you made eye contact or something. But that wheel starting to turn can't be misinterpreted. I watch it right up till I'm far enough that he can't hit me. Even if he's trying. Along with all the other stuff we're all watching for too, of course.

Like all the stuff in all these other tips.