Safety Your Thoughts

[bwalsh22]

Constantly looking, always try to come to a complete stop and look carefully, never plan on rolling through a stop, this will usually get you in trouble. Last one, back off the car in front. It makes you more visible to people at intersections and stops the person in front of you from messing you up...Sorry just thought of one more, try not to pass on the left when the guy in front is turning right, many times the car at the intersection is going to turn out, my wife almost hit a biker cause you could not hear or see him till he went firing by in the left lane as he passed the guy that was making the right turn.

KEEP YOUR EYES OPEN!

 

[01dynaglide]

Never trust the other people. I'm always under the impression that every car is going to pull out in front of you so make sure you keep your eye on them and everything going on around you.

 

[dbmg]

I agree with all the posts above with awareness when riding! But I'll add to that.....I wear safety gear ALL the time:

1. Full face helmet
2. Mesh jacket with CE armor in the summer and Tourmaster textile jacket with CE armor in cooler weather
3. Draggin Jeans
4. Motorcyle Boots from Chippewa
5. Armored gloves

You can do everything possible with the skills and the awareness but still never know when you are gonna go down! I prefer to do as much as possible to protect my melon and leave the skin on my body!

Touchy subject with many riders out there with the helmet laws and all but I do not judge others.....ride with what you feel comfortable wearing....it is up to you. I'm just posting what I prefer to wear for safety gear!

+1 You are absolutely correct. You do not dress for the ride but for the crash should it ever happen.
Excellent advice.....

 

[Iceman24]

Still remember SIPDE from 1988 BRC:

-"S"can
-"I"dentify
-"P"redict
-"D"ecide
-"E"xecute

Ride & live by it every time I hit the saddle...

 

[itellya]

I have been riding for some time now and I recall a few videos that I saw that dealt with safety while riding. One of the most important bit of advice was while riding in the city and you see vehicles edging out to turn in your lane from street corners etc.... make sure you can see there eyes because if you dont see their eyes they dont see you. And one note of adidtional caution even if you see their eyes try to see how they are paying attention to other traffic around them and around you. At this point start to look at ways to get out of trouble if all else fails.

We are cold as heck up here in Ottawa Canada and the weather is looking good for next week riding season to start.

Good riding

 

[lorne]

NEVER TRUST THE OTHER GUY. Doesn't matter if that is another biker, but especially if it is a cage driver. Assume they are going to do something stupid and leave yourself an out.

As an example, the other day I was riding in an HOV enclosed lane following another biker. I did not know that guy. He kept motioning me to pull up I assume he meant along side. Not gonna do it. I will ride stagger with someone I do not know well, and will take the following position since I can drop back as far as necessary while I assess the other rider's (s') skills. So after a few arm motions, I finally passed the guy and rode in front of him. I was NOT riding side-by-side at highway speeds in an enclosed lane with someone I did not know. BTW, his bike was a newer model.

And, you can almost always guarantee that the cage driver you are pulling up on is gonna cut over into your lane. This happens regularly, and my bike is a pretty big eyeful!! Happens to me almost monthly at least once. Just have to watch them like a hawk.

And NEVER assume that cage turning left, either approaching you or out of a side street on the right, is gonna wait for you to go by. Assume they are gonna cut in front of you, and have an out.

Check your tires every week, and your brakes every day.

TQ

sounds like hwy 59 !!!!!

i am with the touchy subject as well helmets are a choice and i choose to wear one. Grew up in British Columbia (helmet law) road in Denmark (helmet law) live in Venezuela (helmet law)... could never afford a ticket so i wore one... work out of Houston (no helmet law)

When i first bought my bike in Houston i went for a short ride with a very good friend. since there was no helmet law off we went, this was my first ride EVER with out one. when we stopped he asked how i was doing. i was shaking like a leaf, i said something doesn't feel right. went back and parked the bike, bought my brain bucket the next day and...BANG everything was back to normal. i can't ride 3 blocks with out one.

not saying you need one or not it is up to the individual to determine that. but i for one will always have one on.

use to wear shorts under my chaps in summer, if i could find a good pair of mess pants i would do it again. still looking for those.

 

[Jack Klarich]

Keeps your eyes moving and always be looking for an escape route

 

[JBC2565]

All great posts.
Only thing I can add is I've matured. Things have become second nature (Iceman's SPIDE).
I tell people if I had a bike at 18, I doubt I would be typing this right now. Bought a 1976 KZ 900 Z1 at 27 and my FLSTC at 30 (41 now).
No need to be in a hurry or make poor decisions as I've gotten older.

 

[Mad Dog Jim]

There's a recent clique' "Ride it like you stole it!" That's cool if you want to blow up the bike, make enemies in the neighborhood, and eventually die in a high speed chase with the po-po. I prefer "Ride it like you are the mechanic, and your 5 year old daughter is on the back..."

Learn to use your peripheral vision and be aware of what it WAY down the road. If you CAN see it, you SHOULD see it. For instance, on a long straight stretch if there is a Mack truck 2 miles ahead, you should see it 2 miles ahead not when you are 4 seconds away!

All in all, I will die one day. I would rather it be on the Hog than at my desk!!!

 

[Hoople]

I fear getting run over from the rear more so than cars pulling out in front of me. I look in my rear view mirrors more than I look straight ahead.