Tag Archives: riding tips

Motorcycle News, News

Stayin’ Safe: One Man’s Junk…

Leave a comment
junk in a truck
With an excessive load of scrap held in place by a cable, that vintage flathead V-8 engine, along with the rest of the load, could soon be on the road surface.

I’ll admit, there can be some really interesting things to be seen packed into the backs of trucks and in open trailers as they haul down the interstate. But, while it can be tempting to get a closer look at that pickup truck loaded to the sky with unusual scrap items, it is wiser to exercise caution around overloaded vehicles. Often, loose items are simply thrown on board and trusted to stay in place on their own. Or a weak attempt to tie things down is expected to do the trick. But at speed, with a little wind or a bump in the road, those items can break loose and topple to the highway, creating a serious hazard for motorcyclists.

Despite any draw of curiosity, it’s best to create extra space between loaded vehicles and ourselves. It’s also a good idea to consider how other drivers in traffic might react if an object falls from the truck or trailer ahead of them. We should have a planned response ready. Also watch for poorly fastened singular items, such as mattresses on car roofs and loosely secured ladders in truck beds (both are popular items to launch onto the roadway). Even displaced lightweight items such as clothing and trash can send traffic scurrying in all directions and some items can get caught in a motorcycle’s wheels.

Even with no loaded vehicle in sight, be ready for the remnants to be on the roadway at any time. Monitor traffic ahead and notice if any vehicles are moving around as if to avoid a larger object on the road. Items that are small enough to be straddled by cars can still be dangerous enough to put a motorcycle down, so keep a healthy following distance from any vehicle and anticipate the sudden appearance of a flying, sliding or emerging object. One man’s junk may be another man’s treasure at the flea market, but for a motorcyclist on the highway, it can be serious trouble.

Source: RiderMagazine.com

Motorcycle News, News

Stayin’ Safe: A Pain in the Grass

Leave a comment
grass clippings on the road
Grass on the roadway can be a non-issue or an extremely slippery condition. If possible, slow down using clear pavement ahead of the covered area.

I’ve got a grass-fed beef. And, based on recent conversations, so do a lot of riders. Homeowners mowing their lawns and throwing abundant grass clippings onto the roadway can create a special kind of threat to motorcyclists.

Dry grass will typically blow away as vehicles pass through or breezes sweep it off the roadway. But if grass is wet, it clings to the surface and can be like grease under motorcycle tires.

If possible, when confronted with grass-covered pavement, do all slowing on clear pavement leading up to the grassy area. Keep eyes up, looking well ahead to increase stability. To maximize traction, minimize steering, braking and throttle inputs and coast through the grass patches. If the equivalent of one of these Chia Pet patches of pavement appears in a corner, the rider should minimize lean angles and look to the exit, not down at the grass or toward the edge of the road.

Remember that grass will stay wet longer than pavement. So, after a rain shower or in the morning when dew blankets the landscape with moisture, the road surface may be dry, but grass clippings may still be wet and slippery.

grass clippings on the road
When riding through grass, minimizing steering, braking and throttle inputs will help to maximize available traction.

The best way to avoid problems? Ride only as fast as you can see and anticipate the possibility before you encounter it. If you see homes with lawns–especially on the weekends when homeowners are most active doing yardwork–there’s a good chance someone will be mowing. Larger lawns, like those found in rural areas where we like to ride, are often maintained with lawn tractors that process large amounts of grass and throw it greater distances.

While discharging grass onto roadways is illegal in many areas, it remains a threat to riders. Anticipating the condition and riding smoothly and calmly through it will reduce the likelihood that grass on the road will clip you.

Source: RiderMagazine.com

Motorcycle News, News

Stayin’ Safe: Wheel He Or Won’t He?

Leave a comment
wheel he or won't he
Will this truck pull out in front of you? Watching for the front wheel to begin rolling is a more reliable predictor than making eye contact with the driver.

For those of us on two wheels, the most likely clash with another vehicle would be at an intersection with an approaching vehicle turning left across our path or a vehicle pulling into our lane from a side road, parking lot or driveway. How can we know if the driver will pull the trigger and shoot point blank into our immediate path of travel? When it comes to the anxious driver poised to pull out from our right or left, is there a way to detect the driver’s intent?  

If there’s a wheel, there’s a way. Determining if a vehicle is beginning to move forward is most practical if we look to the car’s front wheel. Our brain has a much easier time detecting even the subtlest wheel rotation than it does trying to discern if the mass of the vehicle itself is moving slightly from right to left (or vice versa). See the wheel of that vehicle to your right beginning to rotate counterclockwise? Be ready; the vehicle is about to enter your lane!

But what about eye contact? Even if a driver appears to be looking directly at you, he or she may be looking beyond, never even noticing you. And, even if the driver does see you, they could easily misinterpret the distance and speed at which you are approaching, believing that you are farther away than you are.

Always anticipate the move. Even if you are confident that a driver will not pull out, be ready when they do. The way to do that is by managing your speed. Ask yourself if you could smoothly and safely stop your motorcycle to avoid contact if that driver began to pull out. Looking and anticipating while still carrying excessive speed takes away your options and limits the space and time you have to work with should the driver enter the lane ahead of you. He wheel. I mean, he will. 

Source: RiderMagazine.com

News, Uncategorized

All the Important Things First-Time Motorcyclists Must Know

Leave a comment

Contributed post

Being a first-time motorcyclist is not as simple as hopping on a bike and riding off into the sunset. A lot of thought and effort has to go into the process, a great number of precautions need to be taken, and many important pieces of information need to be remembered. If you don’t take any of these aspects into account, you could end up putting yourself and your fellow road users in real danger when you embark upon your first motorcycle journey.

Before you twist your throttle and begin burning some rubber, then, you should make sure to read on and check out all the important things first-time motorcyclists must know.

Don’t commit to a bike without thinking about it first

Buying your first motorcycle might be an incredibly exciting experience, but it’s also a massive financial decision to make. Quite simply, you could end up throwing a heap of cash towards your new venture, find that you don’t actually like this form of transportation, and then find it hard to recoup the cash that you spent when you decide to go back to driving a car. This means that, even before you become a fully-fledged first-time motorcyclist, you have to decide if it is actually the right course of action for you to take.

Importantly, this means looking at your financial options and weighing them up in comparison with how you plan on using your bike. If you only want to go out on weekend rides, then it’s important to find a finance and insurance deal that covers you for this lack of use. On the other hand, if you plan on using the bike as your only source of transport, then you need to find a deal that will cover you extensively. If you need assistance when it comes gauging your financial situation in comparison to your motorcycle usage, especially if you want to take out a motorcycle loan to pay for your venture, then make sure to head to https://www.crediful.com/best-motorcycle-loans/. By doing so, you’ll be sure to make the smartest choice possible.

As a rider, take target fixation seriously

Once you are out on the roads and enjoying your freedom as a motorcyclist, it’s time to start getting serious about staying safe. Importantly, this means taking target fixation incredibly seriously. This is the act of learning how to look towards the direction in which you wish to go — it might sound simple, but it’s a problem many first-time motorcyclists face.

Simply, when you’re out on your bike and you’re piloting it around the roads, you’re going to go in whichever direction your eyes are fixed upon — if you’re looking straight ahead, for instance, then you’ll carry on going forward. You have to go out of your way to become well versed with target fixation, though, so as to ensure that you stay safe when circumventing corners. Even a split-second of distraction can send you flying the wrong way at a corner — if this happens, then you could put yourself and your fellow road users in untold amounts of danger. So make sure you learn how to focus on your direction and make sure you learn how to block out any distractions that may seek to put you in danger.

Don’t forget to turn your choke off

Most modern bikes are fuel injected and don;t have a choke. However, bikes wth a carburetter have a choke and it’s very easy to forget to turn your bike’s choke off, so don’t worry if you do forget to do it once or twice in the beginning. You shouldn’t make a habit out of doing this, however, as that would see you run your bike unnecessarily. This would then strain your motor and put it under an amount of pressure, a pressure that’ll make it more susceptible to wear and tear in the long run. Also, it would see you waste your gas, and given the current price of it, that’s simply something you cannot afford to do.

Prepare properly for each journey that you make

Each journey that you make on your motorcycle, even if it’s just one to your local store, has to be taken with the utmost seriousness. This is because whenever you travel on your bike, wherever you go, there is always the potential for danger to arise. For this reason, preparing properly for each journey that you make is a must — you should adjust your mirrors to ensure that you can see as much around you as you can, and you should perform a pre-ride inspection to make sure your bike’s chain is working properly.

When you decide that you want to become a motorcyclist, make sure to heed the advice found above. Doing so could save you having to face a lot of trouble, and it could even save your life.

Source: MotorbikeWriter.com

News

Most Important Road Rules Every Motorcycle Rider Should Never Break

Leave a comment

Contributed post for our important American readers

Ah, America. The land of the free, the home of the brave. But to what extent are we allowed to exercise the freedom that was paid for in blood, sweat, and tears by our forebears? There are so many fun things to do in life and motorcycle riding is probably one of the most fun.

But what limits are set? What lines are drawn? When does enjoyment become harmful to an equally-entitled citizen? Well, as a general rule, you’re allowed to wave your fist around as long as it doesn’t hit you or anybody else.

But that’s a description that, while it encapsulates the core idea of rights, doesn’t really help much in terms of helping us regulate our behavior. Well, that’s what this article is intended to help with. While it’s true that there are so many rules to follow, these are the ones that you should never, ever break.

Always Wear a DOT-Approved Helmet

This is the most basic tenet of riding safety. You don’t need to finish a few units of Anatomy and Physiology to know that head injuries are extremely dangerous and that it’s so easy for them to become fatal. This is why the Department of Transportation puts heavy emphasis on wearing proper protective gear when riding your motorcycle. Here’s a quick guide on what exactly are the DoT’s standards when it comes to helmet types.DOT helmet stickers

Use Appropriate Lights and Light Signals

It may seem like a very basic rule but many motorists — not just motorcycle riders, but car drivers too — seem to forget it. You can’t expect your fellow motorists to be able to read your mind. Give them a heads up for them to be able to react to the next move you’re going to make. While it’s generally advisable to avoid riding your motorcycle at night (because motorcycles are easily overlooked), if you really must, then always, always keep your headlights on.

Following this rule will not only keep you from causing any accidents, it’ll also save you the trouble of having to pay for medical expenses and having to look for experienced motorcycle accident lawyers like the professionals at Farris, Riley & Pitt, LLP.

Don’t Swerve, Just Do a Slow Curve

Erratic driving and sudden turns will almost always result in accidents. Even when you make use of proper light signals, it’s still better to change direction gradually rather than abruptly. Motorcycles aren’t as stable as their 4-wheeled counterparts, and are therefore most prone to the loss of control.

This rule becomes even more important during less-than-ideal road conditions. Wet roads, and even worse, snow and ice-covered roads are to be avoided in general. Only ride when the weather’s ideal, unless you really need to.

Wear Proper Motorcycle Riding Attire

No, denim isn’t abrasion-resistant enough to pass for proper bike attire. All riders go down at some point in their bike-riding journey. You don’t want to be reminded of that time you lost control and ended up sliding (quite painfully too) across the rough concrete. Save yourself the pain and the scar and make sure to get armored protective gear.

Source: MotorbikeWriter.com

News

Five tips for riding old wooden bridges

Leave a comment

In the wake of a damning report that says one in five wooden bridges in Australia is in need of repair, we have compiled five tips on how riders should tackle these bridges safely.

Dangers for riders consist of rotting planks, exposed nails and spikes, and longitudinal planks that can knock a bike off course.

The poor condition of our bridges and the backlog of repairs is highlighted in the 2018 National State of the Assets: Roads and Community Infrastructure Report.

You might find that our tips about riding these bridges are similar to our tips for riding through roadworks and gravel.

Five Tips for riding wooden bridges

Grafton Five tips for riding wooden bridges
Longitudinal planks can be a danger to all two-wheelers
  1. Slow down and approach all wooden bridges with caution. Don’t hit them at top speed as wiping off speed on a wooden bridge can be another issue as wood is not as grippy as asphalt.
  2. If it’s in a remote area and looks very old, you might even consider hopping off the bike and walking the bridge first to see if there are any missing, loose or rotten planks. It’s a bit like how you might walk a creek crossing first before venturing across.
  3. When you start riding the bridge, keep your eyes up like on a gravel road, looking ahead for any hazards. This will also help with your balance if you have to ride between or on a longitudinal plank. Never look down or that’s where you will end up!
  4. If you’re riding in a group, tackle the bridge one at a time. Watch where the other riders in front go and follow their line. If they made it across safely, then so should you.
  5. Ride the bridge in a low gear at a constant throttle so you can quickly either stop or increase speed as needed.

Source: MotorbikeWriter.com