- never put both feet on the ground when stopped. Only one foot on the ground at all times.

Yikes. That is the recipe for out of balance. When the flying Wallendas are doing their high-wire act, they use balance poles. Think of your legs as those balance poles and you will see why it is better to put both feet down at a stop.

- don't crawl to a stop. Ride to the stopping point, then when the bike is about to tip, put your foot down.

As above, when the bike is about to tip, you are out of balance. When coming to a stop, crawl or otherwise, the bike should be balanced enough that you need only very light pressure from BOTH feet to hold it upright. When a big heavy bike starts to tip over, you don't want 1 foot to take all of that weight. What if your wife is on the back and she's a real cow? Could get you in trouble or at least wreck a knee.

- learn how to fall. Learn the performance limits of your bike before Murphy hits.

I'll go with learning the performance limits but I'm not sure about learning how to fall.

- You can always tell an experienced rider by how he takes his turns.

I suppose this might be true but it doesn't really help your situation.



Get the "Ride like a Pro" video. Everything you need to know is right there.

 

The more you ride the more you will learn from experience,which by the way is the best teacher.Personally been in the saddle since 62,and always ridden aggressively,which by itself makes learning all the tricks that much more important.Good Luck

 

I put both feet down, i dont care what they teach, you have to remember the guys that made up these classes are no different than all the voices on this site, they had their idea of what is right and wrong.
by the time you come to a stop you should already know if your going to be stopping on an oil slick, leaves, gravel or any other thing that will allow your front brake to lock. but only one foot down is going to eventually leave you picking your bike up at an intersection, and red faced embarassed while the people all around that intersection are talking about how you need to learn to ride and the good looking chick next to you in the other lane is going to be giggling with her friends..I use both feet.

joining others, I dont do it, if other bikes ovetake and pass me, i let them go, adjusting my speed could be dangerous during the pass. If im going to pace a group of bikers, im going to do it from WAY back as in 1/4 to 1/2 mile. im not going to speed up and stay 4 cars back, thats to close and they will feel you have invited yourself and your an intruder.
clubbers i wouldnt even pace, let them move on down the road and out of sight, keep at your pace without change.

If any biker passes me and goes out of sight, and then several miles later i catch back up and they are now under my speed, i will pass them as safely as i can and carry on down the road at my pace. clubbers might even consider this disrespectfull I just dont know, but i dont care either, that might be bad, so do what you think is best in this situation and dont do as i say lol. theres a lot of unspoken rules out there, basically you just need to respect another persons space, think safety, ride safely and everyone goes home.

 

First of all if I pass you and then you fall in behind me 3 car lengths behind I am going to wonder WTF you think you are doing. I don't want you around me if I don't know you. Are you trying to follow me? It's not a good practice. I have been riding 31 years and never put both feet down. I put my left foot down and keep the right foot on the brake. The bike will lean just slightly to the left and be balanced on my left foot. I also keep the bike in gear and watch my mirrors for drunks or sleepers. Always leave yourself an exit. Always look ahead in traffic so you are not surprised by the 3' piece of 4x4 that all the cages are driving over so as not to hit it. Learn to counter steer your bike. It will allow you to turn your bike much quicker and a much tighter turn also. watch for spilled gas when pulling up to the pumps. Your bike will drop out from underneath you so quick you won't know what hit you. Take a experienced rider course. And practice your skills.

 

The one foot down is interesting. Here in Florida, specifically Brevard County, all the motor cops (motorcycle LEO) when at a stop such as a stop light or stop sign only put one foot down. No idea why however, yesterday at a traffic light on US1 I had a motor cop on my left and he kept his right foot covering the brake the entire stop at the light.

Don't we have a motor LEO's on this forum that can provide some insight?

 

I had both down when I got rear ended. Just pushed me forward. If I had one down, I could have broken a leg and done more damage to the bike. Just a fender.

 

I am not LEO but ride with one and they teach it as a safety skill. If you ever need to take off real quick you will be in much better control of your bike with one foot already up.

 

Xactly ... 2 planted feet are still better and more stable than 1. It's mere logic.

 

Not flaming you but if you had been watching your mirrors and been ready to take off at a moments notice you might have been able to avoid the impact. I lost a buddy one night as he was rear ended and killed. The cage that hit him was a drunk that didn't even see him. It's not a stupid practice as you say.

 

Here's one: Never go through an intersection right behind a cage in the right lane. Cagers often turn right after another cage coming toward them passes,if you are trailing that cage in the right lane they will turn right into you. Ask me how I know,I try to ride even with a cegers side window while crossing intersections.