Be The Bunny! Safe riding and motorcycle survival thread

I'll (somewhat) disagree. I haven't had anyone turn left in front of me in the six years since I started wearing my Dayglo-Discoball helmet.
Complacency kills, but visibility is a fantastic defence against the complacency of others.

 

Hold on.....

You consider brake-checking and confronting another driver to be a reasonable response to lights flashing at you?!

Lights, not lasers?!

Dude. Bunnies are calm; bunnies are Zen.

 

Understood - I'm not saying don't try and be seen - I'm just saying don't expect to be seen even with a Dayglo-Discoball helmet, and don't over-do-it so much that everyone is eyeballing you and not paying attention to anything else.

I know you (k-moe) have been riding long enough to know this but I just want to make sure the new rider doesn't fall into the trap of thinking that an SUV driver who's trying to plug in his iphone, getting a earful from his wife about missing his kids conception, while asphyxiating himself on a double-gouda-donut-burger will give a shit about the tiny glowing guy on a motorcycle when he needs to change lanes.

..and no I said I've slammed my brakes on and politely asked the gentleman how i could help. I really thought he was trying to wave me down - I thought there was something wrong with my car. I had only been in the US for about 3 weeks at the time and never heard of these stupid things.

 

Welcome to America

 

Wait.... I'm still trying process this---

ROTFLMAO

 

Agreed.

 

As everyone else has said, pay attention and be prepared to ride. You cant always account for what others might/might not do, only your own actions. Over the years I have had several accidents, from just doing stupid stuff while riding my street bike offroad, to having my bike so mangled the only way it got home was with a chain wrapped round it dangling from the back of a tow truck; in *every* instance, there was a high degree of operator inattention involved. It can happen pretty fast, one second you are enjoying the ride, the next you are flat on your back with tubes going where no tube should ever go. Know your abilities, know your bike, making sure it is in good/safe running condition, and above and beyond all else, *relax and enjoy the ride*! You can never anticipate everything that might happen. One time I was all proud of myself for putting on a helmet to take a short ride to a lawyers office to talk about divorce #2. I was a mile or so from the place and a bee or hornet flew up under my glasses and stung me *just* below my eye. By the time I walked into the lawyers office, my eye was running water so bad he probably thought I was crying about the obscene retainer check I was about to write. My point is you cant worry about every little thing, do the best you can and just enjoy the ride, because being tense and fearful will kill you.

 

I have been hit from behind sitting at a stoplight.I have T boned an idiot who turned left in front of me,That being said. I don't ride without gear,helmet,jacket, gloves, eye protection, never ride in shorts, never ride without boots.I have the results of road rash on about 30 percent of my body I was stupid I payed the price......so now I would rather sweat then bleed

 

and when you're tired of being the bunny..........

 

thats a little over kill all you need is 1 machine gun

1916-17 Matchless-Vickers 8B2-M Russian Military Motorcycle Combination4

 

I like the way you think.the best defense is an awesome offense

 

I drive a tractor trailer for a living.I think it helps in that you tend to think way ahead of you,escapes or outs what ever you want to call them equal surviving on a bike..I also avoid large group rides. A huge bunch of people who don't know each other with various degrees of ability what could possibly go wrong.

 

Why am I flashing back to Mad Max?

 

oddly enough people look for those riders and avoided them

 

I almost high sided once because a guy slammed on the breaks with no warning and came to a complete stop on a back road. It was to look at some restaurant. Anyway I had to react quick and my back tire came out so fast and I barely recovered it. We where on a curve. I was on a GS 1000 at the time. I love the fact that on my XJ1100 the front brakes will engage when just using the rear pedal because they are linked. Never even hinted at locking even with some hard breaking on dirt. One other thing is wet grass can be tricky especially if your front brake is dragging a bit.

 

Bump for fall riding. The sun is low and blinding drivers here. Wet leaves are starting to stick to the roads in the parks here. Hit a boatload of apples @45 in the road yesterday....that was a new one for me, truck must've dumped em. I'll admit I didn't see them until I was about 2 seconds away, no panic just maintained throttle right through.

 

Black Hills. 2 months riding experience on my new XJ550 (1985). Lead cycle driving down the mountain on two lane winding blacktop called Rimrock Hwy in the rain. Following a beat up pickup. Come around bend, saw pickup in road, with on coming traffic in other lane.

Suddenly I realize the pickup is stopped, no brake lights, no turn signals. On left, on coming traffic. On right, gravel shoulder the width of sidewalk, then a drop off into a canyon.

Hit the brakes. Guys behind me see only steam from my tires. Coming up on pickup at about 45-50 mph. Maneuver right onto gravel at about 40 mph. Look down and see rocks skipping over edge inches from my tire.

Made it around him, but my buddies aren't sure how.

I learned never become complacent, don't over drive your conditions, beware of the other driver, and keep warm (the cold made my senses and reflexes slow).

 

That is why I avoid group pheasant or deer hunts....

 

+1. I hunt alone or with one or two others that I have known for a significant number of years.

 

First day of Spring!
Bunny bump.

 

How you celebrate spring is your business.
This is a motorcycle forum.

 

Hey Matti,
Your signature changed, sad feelings.

 

When I first got my Xj700x I was riding home at 2 am so I thought it would be a good idea to acquire deer whistles. I attached them to the radiator and have ha no problems with deer running out into my path. The deer just seem to stare and watch me go by.

 

Don't let those whistles lull you into a false sense of safety. I've had plenty of deer (and one elk) react in the opposite manner (thankfully without any collisions).

 

For myself I always am on guard against what could be considered a potential collision. Insurance (Deer Horns) are nice yet common sense is a mainstay for my own safety and that of any passengers I may be with (wife).\
I don't think they have a Psychologist that studies abnormal behavior for animals. LMAO

 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/3469868/

 

RB's Golden rules

1 trust no one not even you mother ( guy enters driveway just as mother backing out with crown Vic wagon , wagon on top of bike, guy in hedge)

2 every one you can or can't see wants to run you over

3 refer to rules 1 and 2

 

I stand corrected

 

I'm sure it has already been said before but, RAIN. I've had a Vespa scooter (the newer 4 strokes one) for many years and no matter how careful I was, rain has always had me. Last time I was going at 10km/h under light rain. That feeling that everything is under control. Girl suddenly crosses road. Brake. Rear wheel slips. Just had the time to jump out of the seat while my vespa fell on the ground. Now I'm going by car every time the forecast says rain chance.

 

That's more of a concern in urban areas here, paricularly during the first 20 minutes when the oil on the road is still being rinsed off by the rain.

Learning how to ride in the rain is a fair bit different from learning how to ride on dry roads. Allow longer stopping distance, be mindful of traction (oil on the roadway, manhole covers, the plastic traffic control stripes, etc),, and pay much more attenion to modulating the brakes so they don't lock up (or get a machine with ABS).


If you lived where I learned to ride, and didn't ride in the rain, you'd have to give up on motorcycling altogether.

 

Just move to England for a summer - you'll get plenty of rain practice.

 

Thanks everyone who has contributed to this thread. As a new rider I have appreciated the advice and stories.

 

TL;DR - wear a white or light colored helmet

For stats junkies:. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC387473/

 

further proof...

 

Go back and read. Helmet color helps, but it won't save your backside when someone decides to pass in a blind corner and is coming your way.

Retroreflective stickers help too (but not in the aforementioned, all-too-common-around-here scenario).

 

If you take one thing from this thread it should be road-positioning!

Dominating your lane, creating and managing a bubble of space around you and putting yourself in people mirrors is the number 1 thing you can do to be safe.

 

+1, but not agressively dominating. Riding like a &#$#* will get you killed just as easily as being a lazy rider will.

 

Yeah I don't mean being aggressive - just owning your own space and managing it is a skill. Being an ass makes people get closer. If someone comes in your space cos they're not paying attention it's better to back off and keep your bubble rather than chasing them down and beating them to death with their shoes..

 

I've been reading through this thread and soaking it all in...Cheers guys!

 

^^ @Ribo . Take a command position .
Lots of escape routes and plenty of daylight to make your move for survival.
RB’s golden rules
#1 Trust nobody, not even your mother.
#2Everyone you can or can’t see will try to run you over.
#3 refer to rules #1 and 2

 

Luckily I have been used to riding a bicycle down county highway and on city streets. The positioning, lane control, and not being seen applies there as well. At least now I can keep up with traffic.

 

Value of maintenance... was on a group ride this morning and the guy a few people in front of me in a sharp corner went over the side into the woods. It was the Blue Ridge Parkway and the woods is also down an embankment.

15-20 min later after getting his bike back up to the road again, found he had lost his back brake completely. And in testing the front brakes I noticed his forks bottom out just testing on a roll. Never should have had that bike there...

Writing this makes me look it up.... here is the corner followed by how nasty it would have been just 3-4 corners before that...

 

make your self bigger

 

Weird one today... starting out from stop light in line.... crappy 18 wheeler three cars ahead leaking oil.

Went to lean into a right turn at intersection and the rear wheel just slid out 90+ degrees from my front due to oil on road. Saved it with the inside leg and some throttle but holy crap. First time that ever happened.
Pulled over to check tires and nothing there so maybe just on road. Took every corner back to work like a grandma just waiting to see if it would let go again but seemed OK....

 

Scary dude. I don’t blame you for getting the granny pants on.

 

Nice save mate! This is why I refuse to ride behind a Harley!

 

Give it some time to scrub off, for sure

 

@Tim O were you riding in the middle of the lane, or the wheel tracks? Always seems to be oil in the middle, which is why the wheel tracks are the recommended lane position. However, intersections can get messy everywhere!
Glad you weren't seriously hurt!

 

Just finished reading this thread from start to finish. I figured all this useful info deserves a bump.

My wife recently saw something on Facebook that I really liked and will be implementing in our family. When on car trips with small children, make a game of who can spot the most motorcycles. Train the next generation to see them.

 

My kids are so annoyed at me pointing out motorcycles that they don't even look anymore.
"Hey kids, did you see that?"
"Was it another motorcycle Dad?"
They're less tired of Dad Jokes.