Ride what you like, and don't let people tell you what you should be riding.

 

I've been riding 45 years. When you're no longer learning how to ride a motorcycle, it's time to get the hell of the damned thing before you hurt yourself or someone else!

 

A line from the learned one... Obie one nobullsh*tty:

"Have the eye of an Eagle and the patience of a Saint".

 

The more dangerous road is the one you know or at least think you know. Had a buddy go down on his bike when he took me down a road he had ridden a few times and had really enjoyed it. We start cranking down this road and I soon see this sign with the squiggly arrow 20 mph and I'm starting to love it. Well we're doing about 50-60 at this point and my buddy is not slowing down. Either these turns are mislabeled or he is a lot better rider than I am. throwing caution to the wind I pretty much stayed with him. Well he didn't make the first turn and went sliding off into a field. I was able to stay upright but went into the field with him. Fortunately there was no oncoming traffic and the field was nice and smooth cause it'd been pretty ugly otherwise. Talking to my buddy about it afterward he said he "knew" that curve but thought it was further down the road.

Taught us both a good lesson. When you don't know the road your on your best behavior, don't let your guard down just because you think you know the road.

 

LMAO:icon_laug h:

 

"The day you think you've mastered your bike, is the day it'll kill ya."

My older friend told me that, and his father told him.

 

This is a great thread for me and I'm glad someone else asked first!

I've been away from riding for 18 years but did a lot of it when I was younger. My last bike was an 1989 FLTHC which I owned for a couple of years and drove cross country many times.

Just got back into riding this past weekend when I purchased an FLHTK. Big honking bke. That 103 cubic inch engine is a beast!

OK, here's the situation and question: When making turns, say a left turn for example, I push the right hand forward and lean; in other words: push right, go left. No problems -- been doing it forever.

My friend keeps telling me I'm doing it wrong.

He says I should push the left handgrip FORWARD which will turn the bike for me. To say that that is counterintuitive to me is an understatement.

Could someone please explain this "push left, go left" concept my friend is talking about?

Thanks!

 

When you can ****** the pebble from my hand grasshopper only then will I give you the keys.

Wax on, wax off...

 

It is called "counter steering". Do a search here &/or google it.

You are already doing it btw. Next time you run the twisties, let habit take over & just observe the pressure on your hands.

 

An interesting post - you should get a lot of reaction, some positive, some not.

I'm in the "get all the training you can" camp. Some aren't. It's still a free country, to each his own. Over the nearly 40 years I've been riding there have been a few times that I was in over my head. Luckily the training kicked in and saved me from a few nasty falls, or worse. I was surprised how automatic my reaction was - no time to think, just react through training.

That convinced me that without the training who knows what would have happened. Over the years I've taken the MSF basic and advanced courses, at least one of them no longer than two years apart. I took the Keith Code Superbike class - higher speed "crotch rocket" bikes, but I learned a lot about handling and leaning - two things I didn't know much about. Jim Ford's Rider's Workshop is an interesting training - lots of riding on beautiful roads with almost no traffic - everyone has an intercom to get real time feedback.

I took a class offered by the NC State Highway Patrol - BIKESAFE NC. The course is the single best thing I ever did - totally free. You ride with a NC motorcycle officer and spend the rest of the time learning what you did wrong and right in a classroom. Eight hours - split between riding on local roads (slow and high speed stuff) and in class tutoring. Reg Pridmore runs a CLASS school - a different take, but useful as well.

The point is YOU have to decide what you want of yourself. For me having continual training helps offset rusty skills, instills confidence and has demonstrated value to me by saving my butt several times when I know I would have been over my head if I didn't spend the time training.

Some guys wear full riding gear on every ride. ATGATT - All the gear all the time. Others are content with a beanie helmet and T shirt. To each his own, but I've never known a soldier to regret his training in the heat of battle, and I've never regretted getting professional riding instruction for what I view as the daily battle on congested roads. Hi-Viz clothing works for me as well, but again, not every ride every day. As the local sheriff told me on a Harley charity ride when I wore my Hi-Viz Aerostich suit: "Son, there are some things worse than dying on a motorcycle." He's right - and riding scared is one of them.

I've also learned that I'm not immune to taking a curve too fast, or using poor braking habits and locking a wheel. It gives you a lot of confidence to take the correct steps to get out of trouble without even thinking about it. I'm not saying I'm a professional rider - far from it. And that's my point - anyone can gain a very high level of basic skills. All it takes is the desire to do it, and finding the school(s) that best meet your needs.

Sorry to preach, but I've lost a lot of friends over the years on motorcycles - many could have survived and possibly avoided the problem if they had training. It hits home the first time you start dialing your friend to join you for a ride, then remember - he can't.

Rant over. Be safe.