Be The Bunny! Safe riding and motorcycle survival thread

play punch buggy instead except use motorcycles.
for every bike they see with a headlight on they get to punch their sibling they wont miss another one

 

And remember kids, if you're the bunny you gotta look out for the bulls:

 

Dang....

 

Bull-

 

he's a vegetarian now

 

MCrider go to his web site or youtube videos

 

In the UK the Fire Service run free courses on emergency first aid. Course is called Biker Down. Did it two years ago.

 

When I approach a junction with a potential SMIDSY situation I always look for the back of the drivers head, and never assume he can see me if appearing to look in my direction. This is obviously in good visibility conditions. When I was young my father used to say speed kills reaction time. Never assume any vehicle user can see you that is the way I think. With one eye shut standing on the kerb it is possible to block out a motorcyclist holding a pencil in your line of vision. I think as far as possible motorcyclists especially have to expect the unexpected.

I watch hunting videos in the United States and hunters wear orange high visibility vests. I don't know if this is a legal requirement and I used to do a lot of shooting when I was younger. I suppose it depends how many guns are out on the same shoot.

 

That used to be a requirement (and may still be insome states). Now the trend is to wear as much camoflauge as possible. Unfortunately hunting accidents seem to have increased as a result.

 

Yes camouflage I prefer but the places I used to shoot did not have many other people there and it was shotguns rather than long range rifles I had.

 

Back to motorcycles.

I find that practicing emergency stops and manouvers in a parking lot twice a year helps me to react a bit faster. I also practice low-speed riding. The rear brake is a wonderful tool for maintaining a below-walking-speed pace while allowing you to keep the engine speed up and take advantage of the gyroscopic effect of the engine.

 

Yes I agree practice is very important. Low speed riding was part of the motorcycle test here as I am sure it will be in the States. Reaction times and speed control are lifesavers. I had a few close incidents with cars when I was younger, and I learned my lesson.

 

My wife got me a florescent neon green sweat shirt it is now required riding gear until I get a flo neon green jacket. I am amazed at how far back cars are staying from me when I wear the sweat shirt.
May get them back even more if I strap on a shotgun

so many sq inches of orange is required when hunting in NH

 

As Thomas Hobbes wrote 'a power to keep them in awe' well the shotgun would do that lol.

 

That reminds just bought a new camo hunting suit..

 

Well, this past summer I took the local MSF course. And I will say thanks to my instructors and myself for listening. I say this because I was riding on my way home for lunch; I got cut off and hit by another car at 40 mph! Launched me from my bike went 10 feet as I hit pavement I rolled to the side of the road. All I can say from this experience is I really wish that cars could stop drivers from being on there phones all together. The reality hit and the realization hit 2 days after my accident; I was almost killed by a middle aged man on his cell phone!!!! I got very angry then greatful when I realized how lucky I was. I used every instinct and small lesson I had been taught through the MSF course to save my own life.

 

Glad you are ok. That was one great thing about motorcycling in the 1970's etc when l first rode a bike no mobile phones. I cannot understand how anyone can use a phone and drive and they text too. Clearly they don't care about potential consequences for others. I would jail the lot of them.

 

Yes; I can imagine how nice that might have been to be able to ride with potentially less distracted drivers. Unfortunately for me when I had been riding was the day before thanksgiving; so I believe the assailant had been navigating and texting when he cut me off; I did simply ask why he had been on his phone to which he gave no response; then he stated that he was so grateful that I had been wearing all of my gear; to which I aggravatedly replied yes I am too because I would have been dead otherwise; he knew how bad it was overall; but I did meet up with this gentleman at a later point and he bought me a beer and profusely apologized and stated in front of a judge that he would be very happy to pay for any and all damages to myself and my bike and that again he was just so grateful that my death was not on his hands.

 

someone who actually took responsibility for his actions seems to be rare these days too

 

check this guy out for safety tips

https://www.youtube.com/user/kevinmorris22

 

Yes. I’m a BRS instructor and some of his stuff does deviate a little from our curriculum but I do reference his page in my wrap up and his content is solid.

 

one of the key things is the covering of the brake lever. course beats it into you not to so you do not over front brake in an emergancy. with the thought being that you will have applied the rear brakes before your hand gets to the lever.

he does tell you when he is deviating from the safety course.

 

This infurates me this driver should never be allowed to drive again.

 

But, but.... unless you are riding a 'chopper', with a ridiculously raked front end ( and associated skinny front tyre) most of your braking force > 80%? in the dry, should be the Front.
This is what all the safety courses I have been on teach....in fact if you CAN'T emergency brake and know the limits of both the brake lever/tyres, safely, then you really shouldn't be riding.

The back brake on most motorcycles I have ridden....although I will say the drum braked XJ's are certainly not the weakest, are usually far too weak to slow the bike down sufficiently....

I always cover the front brake, depending on bike/tyres/condition, either one or two fingers

 

Some of his cornering positioning, on those 'empty' corners, is a bit suspect....he's NOT using all of the available road to give him the best (furthest) view around the corner...the further round the bend you can see, the safer you are !!

 

Yes I agree it is all about identifying potential hazards as much as possible. Hell of a smash though, he is lucky to have survived it.

 

In the time it takes a person to react to a car coming from a blind corner into your lane, just WOW. With the force of that hit even good emergency braking would have gotten them hit, maybe not at hard, but that car was not stopping. The choice is taking off road and that is not good either. Just a supper sad vid and resulting I would guess death. I wonder how often this happen on the Dragons Tail?

 

for the new rider you want them to develop the mussel memory of appling rear then front brake. if he panic stops and just crushes the front brake he may go down .
I watch videos of casey stoner trail braking on the race track and it allows him to jump the rear tire over because the weight has been removed from the rear of the bike from the application of the front brake.
if this were to happen to a new rider things could go very badly for him.
the training course is for those learning . once they develpo there skill sets they can think about covering the brake.
my state I live n gives you 1 learners permit good for 45 days . only 1 permit is allowed in your lifetime. if you fail 3 road tests you then must take the course. if your permit expires you can still take the road test but again can only fail 3 times total.
when riding season comes around again you will find me in a parking lot or industrial park practicing my emergency stops and evasion skills.

 

He was was wearing a full leather, air bag suit which activated and inflated as he was propelled off his bike and he survived.

 

Dragons Tail is that the road in the United States with 318 corners and 11 miles long?

 

^^ Good news on the air bag full leather suit, wow glad that he did survive. Yes the Dragons Tail is that road, sorry I should have added a link or made that more clear. I think sometimes no matter how much to train or how much you are the bunny if your number is up it is up that day. I won't give up riding after seeing that video but will make you take notice and maybe not go into my next corner without thinking a little safer.

 

I won't give up riding either, but it just shows how easily bad accidents can happen. The Dragons Tail will be a fun road with all the corners. Mabe one day l will go on a motorcycling holiday to the United States.

 

that was a tiny road even if he were left of center he did not have any place to go except off the road .
no guess on speed but a 60 mph your traveiling 88 feet per second add the car speed

the car was going 66mph maybe 2 seconds from when you see bike to impact

when I first saw those air bag suits I thought no thats not going to be any good.

 

Yes he had no chance of avoiding the car. This is the first time l have heard of a motorcyclist using the air bag suit. The car driver was sent to prison. Unbelievable how he survived a crash like that. Press report stated speed was about 70 miles per hour.

 

video camara in car shows 66mph
I have seen a few ads for the suits

 

Yes it does. I have got an armoured jacket and trousers.

 

Wowzas. I started this thread almost exactly 12 years ago and it's still going strong! Doing exactly what it was intended to do, spurring discussion and debate in regard to safety and survivability.

Good going, folks! Keep it up, and thank you-- it continues to get crazier out there.

Here's one, of which I was recently reminded and forced by my motorcycling offspring to correct: If your helmet is more than 5 years old it's time to buy a new one. Mine was over 12 years old, so I did.

 

Fitz!! Good to see you here !!!!!!!

dave fox

 

We have great moderators here.

 

Nice to hear from you Brian. Your help getting my old pile of parts back on the road 6 years ago is not forgotten.

 

Another Think Bike advert.

 

***SEASONAL REMINDER***

Check the air in your tires before every ride! Here in SE Michigan we've been seeing mid-40 degree temps overnight with daytime highs still pushing 80 at times. The extremely cool nights and warm days give your tire pressures a beating. Just checked mine, haven't ridden in two whole days, and both ends were down 2 - 3 pounds. Granted, that's not danger zone, but it adversely affects handling.

 

This Vid is a little over the top, but it is a good reference and training tool. Not all things apply to our rides but it is a "T-clocks" vid.

 

maybe check oil pre and post starting

 

Air pressure in tires also an important factor in secure riding.

 

Expect
1 - every car/truck/non-motorcycle to try and kill you.
2- be at the rear of all traffic or at the extreme point beyond all such traffic,
3- look left, look right look in your mirrors and turn your head to check again and again before any pulling off or lane changing.
4- do not entertain lingering within a chaotic traffic situation. - get the hell out.
5- hand signals are not uncool, use them if you think drivers behind you aren't aware of what you are doing.

Please.
Do not get lost in thinking we are equal road users.
Motorcyclists and Bicyclists have a lot to lose.

Stay safe and damn... keep the dream.