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thanks everyone for sharing, these stories.

It makes me slow down, and reassess just how seriously I must take the act of riding a motorcycle on public roads.

It also strengthens my belief in proper training, and good protective equipment.

I ware a full face helmet, even on the harley.

I also ware long pants, leather or textile jacket, and boots about 95% of the time when I ride. (5% no jacket in summer, if not on freeway)

Is my gear hot in the summer time???

sure some what.... but not any where near as hot as it is, when your exposed flesh is skidding across sun baked tarmac.

 

I realize we can't avoid every potential hazard out there because of all of the idiots but I've seen riders take off on their scoots, totally oblivious to the world and think it's only about having fun. For me paying so much attention is what take some of the fun out of riding sometimes. That’s one of the reasons I don’t ride as many miles as I use to. Having survived for 45 years without an accident, I’ve been determined to not let some dummy take me out by not being in a hurry and paying as much attention to what’s going on 360*.

If you assume that everyone else is doing what they are suppose to be doing all of the time, that's when you will be the most vulnerable.

 

Depending on the traffic pattern, you may want to ride a little faster than the traffic flow. This lets you control the approach and avoid being overtaken without warning. Don't stay in the left lane unless you are passing cars. This makes you susceptible to tailgating. Let the LEO's catch speeders.

Now if everyone is driving way above the speed limit out of control (Chicago Freeways) I take the smaller less travelled, highways or try to go through early a.m..

(I am all melted!)

 

About 2 weeks ago I was on a 4 lane city street in the left hand lane. A pickup was in the right lane with his blinker on to turn right. It was after dark and I was heading home. The pickup was slowing down for the turn and I was doing about 45 or 50 and about ten feet behind him when he came into my lane.

I gave the ABS a workout on that one. I was sure he had decided to turn left instead of right and I was within a few feet of running into him. He came within 3 feet of the centerline (in my lane) and completed his right hand turn. I guess he thought he was driving an 18 wheeler.

The ABS did fight me on the maneuver though. I was drifting left to avoid the PU and braking hard enough to activate the ABS. I got a bad wobble out of it.

 

I avoided several of them thanks to my ABS brakes. The last one was when a drunk f*ck driving a POS pick-up truck ran a stop sign in front of me. My front wheel stopped 2 ft from his right side. Without ABS I might not be here to write this.

 

NEVER EVER assume that the car coming around the next curve will be on his/her side of the road. NEVER EVER assume that the driver of the car sitting at the intersection sees you.
As you approach any kind of an intersection, ALWAYS cover your brakes.

 

If you hit a pile of gravel in the middle of the road at night....PRAY!

 

My most recent panic situations have involved:
- oncoming morons drifting over the double yellow
- idiots rolling through stop signs from side streets

In both cases, when I come into these situations, cover the brakes and clutch, prepare an exit strategy, slow down.

I do a lot of riding on country roads and state highways here in NC. It seems that with the Spring weather approaching, there are these herds of bicyclists all over the countryside. While they are a pain in the ***, the bigger threat is the cars/pickups that decide it is OK to cross the double yellow to pass the bicycles. I deal with this at least 2-3 times a week. Some ***-hat wanting to pass some bicycles and breaks the law to do it, nearly killing me. I'm more tense when I see a pack of bicycles coming the other direction than I am when I come up behind them.

Good thread.

 

Maybe you should take a rider safety course for starters. Then you need to practice on weekends in empty school parking lots. Practice tight slow-speed turns, emergency braking, starting, stopping, swerving, stopping in the curve, etc.

Then you need to do some reading from authors that are known and well respected. Pick up a copy of Proficient Motorcycling and Proficient Motorcycling II. Some of the best tips in the world in these two books and some of them will save your ***.

Here's my top tips for you right off the top of my head:

-Wear all the gear, all the time. Dress for the crash.
-Never run errands on your bike
-Do not ride at night if it can be avoided
-Do not ride at dawn or at dusk if it can be avoided (deer collisions)
-Assume every vehicle around you will do something stupid
-Never ride in the blind spot of any vehicle
-Cover your front brake and slow as you approach intersections (where most crashes happen)
-Focus on the front tire of any car or vehicle stopped at an intersection. The tire movement is twice the forward speed, so it's a great indicator that they are planning to pull out in front of you.
-Be especially watchful of any vehicle that is stopped and is in position to turn left across your path of travel.
-Most crashes are caused by the riders inability to negotiate a turn. Always slow down more than you think is necessary to safely make the turn.
-Always use the front and rear brake together. 70% of your stopping power is in the front brakes.
-If no ABS, and you use only the rear brake and it locks up, do not release the pressure on the brake pedal until your speed is really slow. Otherwise you risk a high-side flip that can turn out really bad.
-Never sight see on a bike. Always keep you eyes to the front. 77% of crashes are from the front. Always, always scan to the front several hundred yards.
-Always give yourself enough room in front at a red light light or when stopped at an intersection for an escape route when you see that the guy approaching from the rear is not likely to stop. 3% of crashes are rear-enders, but this can help you avoid them.
- Assume you are invisible. Yes, invisible to other drivers.
-Do not ride in a congested city or town if it can be avoided.
-Check tire pressure before every ride
-Never ride two-abreast. Not enough room if one bike has a blowout, flat, or needs to quickly swerve to avoid an obstacle in the road
-Always use the 3 second rule. Leave 3 seconds of distance between you and the guy in front of you (car or bike).
-Replace your horn with a real horn. The roadrunner type horn on the bike is not good enough.
-Riding a bike is fun, but it's also serious business. Never ride if you are mentally fatigued, physically tired, mad, frustrated, sad, or when you are experiencing any other physical or emotional abnormality. Don't do it.
-Do not drink and then ride the bike. Plenty of time for a beer after the ride. Do no let the Harley "life stylers" peer pressure you into this mistake. Don't frequent places where you will be tempted.

So that's off the top of my head and I wish you safety and fun on your bike.
-

 

Complacency Kills! Enjoy, but don't get to comfortable!!

Had a close one last year. Traveling behind a car in the left hand lane of a 2 lane highway doing about 50 (speed limit). There were 2 more lanes (additional) on the right merging onto the highway we were already on. For some unknown reason the car in front of me decided to stop in the middle of the lane in the middle of the highway. By the time I realized what was happening I had managed to move enough to the right to zip past the car and pass him as I was moving to the right lane. WHO THE FU** STOPS IN THE MIDDLE OF A HIGHWAY FOR NO REASON?

I was lucky, no other traffic to the right and enough distance (?) between me and the car in front of me. Again, COMPLACENCY KILLS! It was a wake up call to pay more attention and be more carefull.