Be The Bunny! Safe riding and motorcycle survival thread

I have a non mesh Meteor 4 I got cheap off craigslist - I love it for the cooler weather. I have a mesh of another brand for the warmer weather.

The Joe Rocket stuff is pretty good.

 

Re: Be The Bunny! Safe riding and motorcycle survival threa

For better visibility, it would be great to consider a headlight modulator. It increases your being visible by 200%. You should also consider a tail light modulator. Some operate both. You can find a good one on ebay for about $100 plus shipping, sometimes less.

 

Re: Be The Bunny! Safe riding and motorcycle survival threa

HELMETS HELMETS HELMETS! safed my melon after it bounced off the road 15times. oh and DOnt wear shorts even if its a hot day and ur just going down the block got the scares to remind me to wear protective gear at all times!!

 

Re: Be The Bunny! Safe riding and motorcycle survival threa

Had one on my 81(in 81) and have one on my Maxim. The modulators work!

 

Ok more of a rant but the message is guys PLEASE be carful out there...

Just a few minutes ago on the way home (in fact I am still sooo pissed i could ride back up and knock his brains out) I was coming to the round about in town where the left lane ends and is suppose to merge with the right. And what do you think happens some guy pulls up next to me(mind you I saw him in the mirror then out of the corner of my eye so I knew he was there and assumed correctly what he was going to do. Yup pull up next to me and proceed to try and merge into the side of my bike. THe car behind me opbviously seen it to as they slowed up and gave me room to back off. So as he is mergind into me I seen his(I assume wife look over and give me a look like I don't even exist). At this point I just lift my hand is a what the heck gesture. He goes in front of me(because no matter how pissed I am the reality is my 500lb bike isn't going to push an SUV anywhere. we get by the round about and the guy pull into paralell(sp?) park so by this time I am just fuming. I pull up next to him give it a rev and motion for him to roll his window down he does and I ask him why did you cut me off. I got a dumbfounded look like Huh? what am I even driving?? The without waiting for an answer I told him open your eyes and learn how to F'n drive before you kill somebody. Then I drove home. Guys please keep an eye on the vehicles around you as said many times cagers don't see you and you have to assume they are out to get you. Luckily I was paying attention to my mirrors and seen him. But it could have ended much worse. A couple of years younger(and I still thought of it but I had to get home to watch the kids and I am getting older) I would have proceeded to pull him out of the car and give him a lesson. But I am wiser and older now. I still think I could have taken him and he still wouldn't have figured out why for weeks he was that clueless.

Just a side note to new or newer riders these posts are not meant to put you off from riding your bike but are meant to get you into the frame of mind you need to be in. I still enjoy riding and ride my bike daily unless snow or ice is on the road from well this year March (the last three weeks included save for 2 days of snow) until sometime in November. You just need to be very aware of whats happening while you enjoy your ride.

Ok rant off I am still pissed but feel a little better after yelling at the screen while writing LOL!!

 

Re: Be The Bunny! Safe riding and motorcycle survival threa

All it takes is one wreck and you're wearing all the gear all the time even when it's 100 in the shade.

Bill; I was thinking about a modulator, but the blue H4 is damn obnoxious by itself and I'm also wondering if the modulator would "beat up" on a Halogen?

 

Fitz yeha I have been thinking about the modulator as well. I have been meaning to find the thread on here about how to do it. I have the silverstar ultra pretty white white light but I have trouble deciding to use the high or low beam circuit. I also after today think I am for sure going to put in the spinning led's that another user posted up. Now I have to make or find a clear or smoked lens for the bike so the led's are brighter.

 

Re: Be The Bunny! Safe riding and motorcycle survival threa

Yup, Luckly though, that one wreck has changed how i ride and what i wear soo I chaulk it up to a good life lesson now to hope that others do the same!

 

Although most don't do it, you CAN file a police report and charges against the guy for reckless driving on your own. I have never done this but I know it can be done. You can even file a report for a driver littering the roadway as far as that goes.
Again, not a good idea to confront someone, you don't know what kind of a nut case you are dealing with nowadays.

 

Re: Be The Bunny! Safe riding and motorcycle survival threa

One of the things we covered in my MSF Basic Rider course was being conspicuous. This meant doing just about anything reasonable to attract other motorists' attention, since they are much less likely to run into/over you if the actually are aware of your presence. This got me to pay attention to the other riders on the road and how noticeable they were and what was getting me to notice them.

I saw everything from loud pipes (often excessively so), to brightly colored bikes, LED accent lights on the bikes, headlight/taillight modulators, brightly colored riding gear, a couple of those suction-cup mohawks and even one set of floppy dog ears attached to a helmet. What got my attention the fastest was usually the brightly colored bike, helmet and jacket combination. This prompted me to pick up some new riding gear this year.

I recently bought a Yellow/white/black patterned helmet and a Black/Yellow Tourmaster Pivot 2 jacket to dramatically improve my visibility. Now, I am decidedly not nearly as cool looking as someone in all leathers because I'm dressed like a school bus, but I can definitely tell you that my visibility factor has improved dramatically! 8)

 

Let me second the idea of tire pressure. Fired up the bike, did a visual check, everything looked good, went for a ride and almost went down going around a corner. Checked the air pressure and my front tire that looked and felt ok was 20 lbs low. It was at 20lbs instead of 40 lbs. Make sure you check the pressure when the weather changes......

 

There are low pressure indicators available that may help when checking tire pressures.

Here are two links:

http://www.accupressurecaps.com/Low-Pre ... c3mTe3mNe0

http://www.autosportcatalog.com/index.c ... 8/sc/14660

 

VERY GOOD POINT. Even if it's hitting 70 during the day, if it's going below freezing at night, your tire pressures can go from fine to dangerously low in a couple of nights. If you're living in a cold night/warm day area right now, checking daily or every other day is a must.

As you found out, a low tire that LOOKS fine can still be dangerous.

 

Re: Be The Bunny! Safe riding and motorcycle survival threa

It does not matter what you have on, cagers will not see you unless you appear to be a very real danger to them.

While extra conspicuous lighting and/or riding gear helps, if a cager does not wish to acknowledge your existence on a bike, they won't. Always figure they are out to kill you and you may live to ride another day.

I live in college and commute to work smaller city so between those two populations there are enough distracted cager idiots that even when I drive my pickup truck I figure one of them will wipe me out if I am not careful. This is because they are not going to watch out for you or give a care.

 

Always assume that the car will take "right of way" whether it belongs to you or not.

If you are riding off the rear or to the side of anyone, either hang back far enough that if they swoop over you are not in danger or pull up so you are in line with their front quarter panel and try to make eye contact so you are certain that they KNOW you are there.

If you can, beep the horn quickly to get their attention and give a friendly smile and wave.

 

Just a note, I've never thought those caps were a good idea, because when they're installed, the pin valve (which is designed to hold pressurized air in the tire) is always held open, and the job of keeping in the pressure is moved to the threads on the stem (which is not designed for the job). I can't see that being a good thing, especially on a bike where loss of pressure is far more dangerous than in a car.

I did see a different style at Wal-mart today, though, that didn't hold the valve open - when you want to check the pressure, you push a little button that depresses the pin valve. I'd be willing to try that type.

 

Re: Be The Bunny! Safe riding and motorcycle survival threa

Another tip for riding, and for when one is driving a cage, give yourself extra time and leave early for your destination. My work commute is much more relaxed when I leave an extra 10 to 15 minutes early. When I leave almost on the line for the exact travel time I end up with suicidal commuter cagers who try to rear end me and run me off the road.

Thus I recommend that any time, not just on a bike, give yourself extra time to avoid the last minute rushers and give yourself a margin for your own sake.

 

Bump!

 

Freeway riding tips:

DON'T ride next to big trucks (or any trucks for that matter.) If I'm running in the left lane and coming up on a big truck, I hang back a few lengths until I have plenty of room to get past the thing and then GET past it. Do not stay next to the thing any longer than necessary.

I also try to place myself in "holes" or pockets in traffic; even the busiest freeway runs in clumps with gaps in between, I try to stay in one of those gaps.

Zaniest cager behavior I witnessed today: A girl putting on lipstick and talking on her cellphone at about 70mph in tight rush hour traffic. Not putting on makeup, putting on lipstick while talking. Oh, yeah and trying to drive...

 

Something I haven't seen anybody mention is watch where you step at a stop. First week I got my bike, I stepped in gum at a red light and didn't realize it until I tried to move my foot for the rear brake. Slightly stickier and I would've been in BIG trouble.

Second week I stepped in an oil spill with a friend on the back and dropped the whole bike going about 2 mph. A few broken turn signals, but no real damage. Be careful guys, its not always whats around you, but whats under you too.

Thanks to all who have posted here. Gotta do what we can to stay alive out there...

 

The scariest thing I've ever seen is a girl using one of those pencils to put on eyeliner. I had the image of that pencil going through her eye if she were to hit something. *shudder*

It makes me grateful sometimes that while riding there aren't many things I can do other than be the pilot.

 

Re: Be The Bunny! Safe riding and motorcycle survival threa

Here in Michigan, They are more then "advisory" signs. I was heading home from work one day and went through an s curve that had a yellow 45 mph sign near the begining of it. I payed it no mind and drove 55 mph.
Coming ou the other side I was pulled over by a County Officer and Informed that I was gunned at 54 in a 45. So I now do whatever speed is posted or suggested.

 

Re: Be The Bunny! Safe riding and motorcycle survival threa

When it's hot out it is Sooooo hard to put on the gear to ride 15 minutes to work.

I read somewhere that if you want to get just the sightest idea what road rash will feel like you can run a little experiment.

Put on a pair of short pants

Go out into the street in front of your house and run as fast as you can

Now, without slowing down, drop to your knees

Not even close to what going down at 35 mph would feel like

Makes your teeth hurt just thinking about it doesn't it?

I didn't wear my mesh gear tonight but I know better and will wear it tomorrow

 

Re: Be The Bunny! Safe riding and motorcycle survival threa

In fact, correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe a bike takes more road to stop than a car.

 

eyeliner?
pffft

a guy I work with got a picture of a dude driving down I-435 in KC (65mph and 70mph) playing the TROMBONE!!!!!!

I will get the pic and post it.
craziest thing I have ever seen

 

Re: Be The Bunny! Safe riding and motorcycle survival threa

OK, you're wrong. Actually, a lighter bike like most XJs can stop in about HALF the distance of most "normal" cars.

Just read some road tests; you'll see.

 

Re: Be The Bunny! Safe riding and motorcycle survival threa

saw a guy driving a car and playing a trumpet the other day

 

Re: Be The Bunny! Safe riding and motorcycle survival threa

That's what I said... then I went down and now I have scars on my arm
and the left side of my ribs.

That doesn't even begin to even describe the immense pain of road rash. I have given birth 4 times, that was nothing compared to road rash. At least the labor pain was over after a few hours. Road rash lasted for weeks.

I had a gash in my arm from glass, or rocks, or something that was on the pavement. They could not stitch my arm because there was NO SKIN to stitch up. They had to let it heal from the inside out. My shoulder will never be the same. It has been two months after the wreck, it gets stiff and sore, and I have limited movement on a good day. I have a knot on my left leg that has just now turned into a bruise.

I don't care how freakin' hot it is. I could be riding in the 7th level of Hell and you can be sure I will be in FULL gear. All The Gear All The Time!

I see these idiot kids on crotch rockets in jeans, no shirt, and flip flops and I want to shake them and yell "Don't you know what a fool you are!?"

 

Re: Be The Bunny! Safe riding and motorcycle survival threa

I'm new to riding this year and right now I just wear jeans, leather gloves, jacket and helmet. I am just wondering if you guys had some tips on where to read up on the different riding gear and where the best spots to get the stuff is. Also any suggestions on the quality and functionality of the different gear manufacturers would be appreciated.

 

I couldn't believe what I was seeing at work on sunday when this kid walks into the store after parking his crotch rocket, he is wearing an armored vest under his leather jacket, armored pants, proper riding boots, and armored gloves with a full face helmet, and his girl friend walks in behind him wearing flip flops, capri pants, and a t-shirt, holding a full face helmet in her gloveless hands!!! nobody gets on my bike with me without at least boots, jeans, gloves, and some sort of leather or heavy denim jacket. Please tell me I am not the only one who has requirements for my passengers??? as recent events have shown us, we take part in a very unpredictable hobby and I think we need to make our passengers aware of the risks and how to reduce these risks through gear and rider etiquette to make riding safer for everyone involved!!
Shaun

 

Re: Be The Bunny! Safe riding and motorcycle survival threa

I'm a big believer in armor and full face helmets. May 1 a young lady ran a stop sign and I plowed into her at 40mph. I was wearing a $60 FX100 full face helmet, $70 no brand armored leather jacket, $120 leather riding boots, a pair of $30 leather chaps and a cheap pair of leather gloves.

I came away with a sore foot (very sore actually, I'm sure it would have been destroyed without the boots), 2 very lightly skinned knuckles (I didn't notice them until the ER Dr. asked me, I had to check the gloves to make sure it was from the wreck other than banging them at work) and a bit tender on the left shoulder and forearm (I've been hurt worse banging into a door frame).

I'm fortunate that I didn't bang a knee - armored riding pants are on my to do list.

So, the point of this long rant is that I was well protected by inexpensive gear. It did fit well though. That armor wouldn't have done my shoulder and forearm any good if it were flopping around loose.

 

I bought my Venture Royale the day before Bill's accident, and also knowing about MiCarl's not being seen on the same model. I've read that Bill ran a headlight modulator, that increases your visibility 200%. I'm hoping the added profile of a GoldWing-sized bike would help, and I've decided to paint it a much brighter color than maroon.

 

Oh great. I'm about to order two headlight modulators. I'm gonna anyway.

GEAR: We had a thread similar to this one (this is supposed to be "defensive riding 101") but about riding gear, I can't remember or easily find it.
Me: TourMaster Transition Series II jacket (they come in tall sizes) or Cortech DSX (armored) Denim (they come in tall too HJC CL-15SP full face helmet; Tourmaster solutions waterproof road boots; Churchill Elkskin gloves. I have a pair of TourMaster "Flex" armored pants on the way, although good old Levis have saved my skin on more than one occasion.

I'm putting together a rant for this thread on the "oncoming left" but I'm still trying to organize my thoughts. Scares the living crap outta me on a daily basis. Maybe we all need a MARS LIGHT.

 

Re: Be The Bunny! Safe riding and motorcycle survival threa

Fore4runner:

WebBikeWorld has some of the best gear reviews and information.

As far as online sources, there are many good ones, but I don't think you can go wrong with newenough.com.

I wear HJC CL-P helmet, Cortech Tourmaster GX Air jacket, GX Air gloves, and mesh overpants (over my dress work clothes). Here in the sultry swamps of south Louisiana, mesh is an absolute must, but the GX Air jacket has leather in the critical areas for extra protection. And it has a zip out quilted liner for the 5 or 6 cold days we get per year. :wink:

Right now I just wear leather hiking boots, but hope to get dedicated riding boots at some point in the future.

ATGATT, baby!

Herb

 

Unfortunately left turners are and will always be our biggest enemy.......

Gear....

Scorpion EXO 400 lid, Cortech Fusion jacket, Phoenix Mesh pants (as overpants) JR Boots and power trip Leather Gauntlet style gloves
Boots leak around the seams bad on heavy rain, NEED waterproof boots....

 

Nitro mesh armored jacket, leather gloves & boots, full face Vega helmet. That's my standard riding gear....

Fitz, regarding those modulators. Do you know if one would work on my 750's auxillary light?

 

Re: Be The Bunny! Safe riding and motorcycle survival threa

Yep, read the road tests BigFitz - that's why I dared question that perception. The studies that are credible - not written with a bias - show that in most cases a car driven by an average driver will stop in a shorter distance than most motorcycles driven by an average rider. Mind you, some bikes ridden by experts will stop in really short distances, better than most cars. I'm not talking about the exception but about the average cases.

It is a common and dangerous misconcpetion that riders have that they will surely brake faster than the car they are following, whatever bike they are on. Most of the time it simply is not true. So it's a dangerous idea to keep alive.

Now, are XJs really better brakers? Maybe they are. In that case they would be the exception and we would have to state it that way by not saying that "motorcycles brake better than cars, but XJs do".

If we have definite proof of the contrary (which I haven't found), then I'll be happy to change my outlook. In the meantime, just to be on the safe side, I prefer that the average biker be warned that they will not be good brakers compared to car drivers. That will be true with most of the bikes they ride, maybe even with their XJ.

Anyway, no big deal. Just felt like thinking this out for myself with your help.

 

Re: Be The Bunny! Safe riding and motorcycle survival threa

Well, the laws of physics are the same for everything, and we tend to have much stickier tires on motorcycles than cages have. So, on a good surface a motorcycle should be capable of stopping in a shorter distance.

HOWEVER, when any wheel on a cage locks up (braking over hard or loose surface) it'll lose at most 40% of it's stopping power, and most of them have ABS to help in a quick recovery. A motorcycle on the other hand could lose 70% and would likely go down too.

 

Re: Be The Bunny! Safe riding and motorcycle survival threa

MiCarl,
maybe the tires are sticker, but there are only 2 of them instead of four, and less weight on them to make them stick. The breaking is also trickier to do right on a bike than on a car. It's hard to make rational deductions about what will result from all these factors coming in.

I read the experimental data taken from tests on bikes and cars. This data shows that at 60 miles per hour most bikes come to a complete stop in more distance than most cars. There are exceptions and XJ bikes might be one - I haven't checked.

I have two bikes. I just assume I will need more distance than the car I'm following to brake to a stop whatever bike I'm riding on. If it's not the braking capacity of the bike, it might just be my braking technique that is not optimal at the time. More often than not, this is what will happen. Assuming anything else is taking a great risk of becoming a trunk ornament, I say.

 

Re: Be The Bunny! Safe riding and motorcycle survival threa

I don't want to tie up this thread with a physics lesson. Trust me though that the THEORETICAL stopping distance of the machine (assuming the brakes themselves are up to snuff) depends only on the coefficient of friction with the road, not the weight or number of tires.

On the other hand I don't doubt the test numbers you reference. There are significant other factors that come into play in the real world.

I read somewhere that the maximum braking force generated on a tire occurs at rougly 20% slip. In other words, the tire is only rotating at 80% of the road speed. That would be a disastrous situation on a motorcycle.

 

two completely out of context bits of info from the internet; I have way more resources at home:

"Rider magazine once reported the results of stopping a Yamaha from 60 MPH AVERAGED 87 feet in a series of nine attempts."

Of course, it doesn't say WHAT Yamaha but since it was Rider, we can at least assume a street bike.

From the State of Virginia's "stopping distance chart" (for use as a Court reference) stating "The courts shall furthertake notice that the above table has been constructed, using scientific reasoning, to provide factfinders with an average baseline for motor vehicle stopping distances (1) for a vehicle in good condition and (2) on a level,dry stretch of highway, free from loose material."

"Automobile brakes" stopping distance from 60 mph=171 feet.

Like I said, two completely out of context bits of information. I'll look up the various magazine's tested stopping distances for the Seca 550 and others in its class when I get home; meanwhile why not try to find the stopping distance for say, a Ford Taurus or a Dodge Ram pickup.

 

Re: Be The Bunny! Safe riding and motorcycle survival threa

Hmmm...not sure what kind of measuring device the folks from Rider were using, but a CycleWorld test of the Honda CBR600RR in May 2009 yielded a best 60 mph stopping distance of 140 feet.

That's with a professional rider, and a heap better brakes and wider tires than our old Yammies.

Also interesting was the best 60 mph stopping distance using the back brake only - 304 feet! Now you know why it's such a problem that many riders only stomp the back brake in a panic stop, and why the MSF instructors want to burn it into your brain to get in the habit of using both!

Herb

 

Re: Be The Bunny! Safe riding and motorcycle survival threa

The page on this link has a chart with stopping distances (average? typical?) for motorcycles from different speeds.

Just a little more info for the discussion...

Herb

http://www.motorcyclesafetyinfo.com/mot ... aking.html

 

Re: Be The Bunny! Safe riding and motorcycle survival threa

The figure given (134 feet at 60 mph) is about in the middle of this table:

http://www.batesville.k12.in.us/physics/PhyNet/Mechanics/Kinematics/BrakingDistData.html

Of course the 134 feet is some average figure when both brakes are applied correctly. Using only the rear brake, the braking distance could easily be over 300 feet for instance. Using only the front brake is not as bad, but will take longer too.

 

Re: Be The Bunny! Safe riding and motorcycle survival threa

Hi Everyone --

Just wanted to say THANKS to all who have taken the time to post here.

I am (more or less) your audience and this thread pushed me to pull the trigger on a sixsixone suit, some sweet kneeguards, helmet halos (extras for gifts to buddies) and a stupid-bright rainsuit.

I thought I was Properly Scared before I read this thread but noooooo.....

 

I knew Rider's number was optimistic; here we go:

From Cycle World's 550 comparison test, 8/82 issue:

From 60 mph: Yamaha Seca 550- 128' Kawasaki GPz550- 134' Suzuki GS550M- 128' Yamaha 550 Vision- 133'

Those distances are realistic.

 

Re: Be The Bunny! Safe riding and motorcycle survival threa

don't discredit the back brake either. i was test riding my wife's virago after a tire change and i didn't adjust the rear brake right after putting the wheels back on. i was amazed at how much harder it is to stop with no rear brake.

 

Re: Be The Bunny! Safe riding and motorcycle survival threa

It's up to 85% braking power in front and the rest with the rear. A more common figure given is 60-40. Yes you *need* what the rear brakes give and you need to know how to modulate both to maximize the breaking power according to the speed you have reached and other factors (like a wheel locking).

Emergency breaking is probably the trickiest thing to do for common riders. That's why I try to do it as little as possible. :twisted:

 

Everywhere I go it is natural for me to use both brakes together. I always use both at the same time, that way I wear them out evenly.

 

Re: Be The Bunny! Safe riding and motorcycle survival threa

jd,

Same here. I always use both brakes. That way if I ever need to stop RIGHT NOW hopefully it'll be an ingrained habit and I'll grab/stomp both.

Herb