I've been riding for two years now. Here are some of the things I've learnt over the last two years. And I'm still learning, every day. I'll add extra items as I remember them.
1. MOTORBIKE RULE NUMBER ONE!
Every vehicle on the road is trying to kill you.
2. BE ALERT!
Motorbiking demands 100% attention to your surroundings. You develop an extra sense of what the motorists around you are going to do, or might do. As you ride along, look at the heads of drivers around you, watch their wheels, be prepared to take avoiding action. Always be thinking, “What will I do if they ….”
3. ALL THE GEAR ALL THE TIME
ATGATT isn't just a nice collection of letters, it could save your skin. OK, I admit that I ride around town wearing jeans but always wear boots, jacket, gloves and helmet. Whenever I go out onto the open road I wear my protective pants as well.
4. COUNTER STEERING
You turn your bike by pushing forward on the handlebar on the side you want to turn to. Turning left, you push your left hand bar forward. Turning right, you push your right hand bar forward. Not a hard push, I've found that controlling a motorbike is a delicate matter, for push read “ease”.
This is “Counter Steering”. If you do a RoadSafe course as organised by ACC, they show how Counter Steering works. It all comes down to gyroscopic progression. When a gyroscope is running with it's axis horizontally (just like the front axle of your motorbike) if you turn the axis of the gyroscope the axis tilts out of the turn. If you turn the left side of the axis forward, the axis tilts down on the left side, This happens when you counter steer, ease your left hand bar forward, your front wheel turns slightly to the right and leans over to the left – your bike leans left as well, taking a left hand corner.
Counter Steering works, it's the only way of steering a bike. Even if you think you're not doing it, you are. Practice by doing the “happy biker weave” along a straight road when no other vehicles are around. Gently ease your left hand bar forward, then the right one, left again, right, left, and weave down the road.
5. CORNERING
The easiest way around a corner is the “Racing Line”. Though in the past this technique was considered unnecessary for normal road users, this is now taught in defensive driving courses as the correct way to corner.
Slow down before the corner. You DO NOT want to brake once in the corner, that will stand your bike up and steer you to the outside of the curve (thats where the oncoming vehicles are).
Ease to the outside of the lane before the corner and turn in “late”. Your path should take you onto the “apex” of the curve, this is about 2/3 or more around the corner, Then accelerate out of the corner. This will bring you out of the corner flatter and set up for whatever the next corner is.
Turning in early, and apexing only 1/2 way around the corner, will make you come out of the corner wide – not a good position to be in if the corner tightens up, you won't be ready for the next corner, and there might be oncoming traffic.
6. THE VANISHING POINT
When cornering, look at the vanishing point. This is where the side of the road (left side of the road in a left hand corner, right side of the road in a right hand corner) disappears. That positioning of your head will take you around the corner.
You go where you are looking!
If the corner tightens up and you go wide, then look at the side of the road on the inside of the corner ahead of your bike, the bike will automatically lean over more and turn tighter.
Don't look at an oncoming car if you are going wide, you go where you are looking and will end up embedded in the car's grill. Look towards the inside of the curve and you'll go around the corner safely.
7. MAINTENANCE
Keep your bike in top condition, Give it a walk around and check it over every time you're taking it out for a ride.
Know what your tire pressures should be, check your tire pressure at least once a week. Buy a foot pump and pump your tires up even if only a psi or two down from the recommended pressure. 1 or 2 psi less pressure in a tire can alter the way your bike handles.
Check your bike every time before you go out, check the brakes, your indicators, tail and brake light, chain tension, tire tread. Become familiar with the workings of your bike.
8. RIDING WITH OTHER BIKES
If riding alone, the best position on the road is in the right hand wheel track in your lane. This gives you ownership of your space on the road and following cars will be less likely to try and monster passed you. If following a car, be in the view of their rear vision mirror.
Don't ride in the centre of the lane, that's where every leaky old clunker drops its oil, when it rains that portion of the road is suicide alley.
When riding with other bikes, ride in either the right hand or left hand wheel track in a staggered formation. First bike rides to the right of the lane, second bike rides to the left of the lane, third bike to the right, and so on. This gives you more space directly ahead of you in an emergency. So don't close up too much on the bike ahead of you – you're cutting down on your safety factor.
Riding with other bikes needs more concentration. You've got to watch out for all those normal hazards, plus keep an eye on the riders ahead and behind you.
9. USE YOUR MIRRORS AND ALWAYS LOOK OVER YOUR SHOULDER BEFORE CHANGING LANES
Like cars, motorbikes also have a blind spot outside what you can see in the mirror. It's large enough to hide another motorbike, or even a car. Always look over your shoulder when changing lanes, the motorbiker's life you save could be your own.
10. GET INTO THE HABIT OF AVOIDING WHITE LINES
In the wet, white lines can tip you over so easily.
When riding every day, in the dry, get into the habit of avoiding white lines. Ride around speed markings on the road, ride between the squares of pedestrian crossings, ride around and never stop and put your foot down on the triangles marking Give Way intersections, keep well away from the roadside marking when cornering.
Then, when the road is wet, you'll be avoiding white lines by habit, you won't even have to think about it.
11. NO BULLSHIT
Motorbiking needs 100% of your concentration. You can't afford to be thinking about that argument you had with your girlfriend the other night, or what you'll put in your application for that job you want. Focus on the job in hand, riding your motorbike safely.
12. ACKNOWLEDGE OTHER BIKERS
Bikers wave and nod to each other as they pass. DO NOT Wave when in a left hand corner, this will remove your left hand from the handlebar and that's the hand that controls the turn. Safest way to acknowledge another biker is to lift your head upwards, this allows you to look down to keep your eyes on the road. Nodding downwards takes your eyes from the road, this is not recommended.
13. PASSING ONCOMING TRUCKS
Trucks punch a lot of air out in front of them and to their sides. So when a truck comes the other way fade to the left of your side of the road, that way the buffetting from their wash won't throw you about so much
Also I'm very careful passing trucks going the same way. I wait for a greater passing opportunity because they're longer and you will be out on the other side of the road for longer, and I try to pull wider around them so their wash is less. Sometimes passing a truck I find myself having to lean to avoid being sucked towards or blown away from the truck.
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Originally Posted by mossy1200
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