[GSXR1000DJ]

Lets put up some safety tips that we use for riding. This will help out any newbie on a bike this season. And Bull...don't jack up my thread. This is for riding safety tips.

1. Cars don't see you. Any car you see in traffic, assume the driver has NOT seen you and will not see you. Ride accordingly.

2. Wear all your gear. If you do go down, that could be the difference between you being able to get back on a bike eventually and not. (I've gone down on the street before, gear helps. On that subject, watch for dogs & kids, they are unpredictable.)

3. If you are a new rider and are going on a group ride, let people know you are new. Post before that you are coming out. Someone will ride with you 9 times out of 10, and try to help you stay a bit safer. If you ask them after the ride, they will more than likely have some tips to help your riding improve.

4. When riding with a group, ride your own ride. What that means is: Ride at a speed you are comfortable at. Don't push harder to:
a) impress people (I'll be impressed by a new rider who is concerned with their own and my safety, not someone who 'rides like hell' to keep up)
b) not get left behind. It's ok to ask where the next meeting point is. Guys I ride with would never leave that point until everyone in the group has made it there. Also, make sure you know what some of the hand signals are that riders will use, and if you've never done it, ask about riding staggered.

5. Leave room. Don't crowd other riders / cars by riding too close. You'll be able to see the road better and it will give you more time to react to obstacles / potholes / sand & gravel etc.

6. Always look where you want to go. Don't look where you don't want to go. Why? Because you and your bike end up where you are looking.

7. Did I mention that cars won't see you?


Feel free to add any kink of tips that you use or pratice while riding alone or with a group. And remember..Ride Smart/Ride Safe....Arrive Safe. :dthumb:

 

[Gas Man]

8. When ever possible Ride with WOS!! They will teach you all of this in the real world!!

WOS has its own set of rules for riding in the group...but that really doesn't apply for newbies in general!

 

[ShanMan14]

Tap your brake lights before braking, if you can, when there is traffic behind you.

 

[twisty]

Be ready for anything. Keep yours up and dont focus on anything.

 

[Captain Morgan]

1. Cars don't see you. Any car you see in traffic, assume the driver has NOT seen you and will not see you. Ride accordingly.

This is one of the BIGGEST things I can suggest. NEVER assume that they saw you. I pulled up to a 4-way stop sign at an intersection on the bike one day. I had come to a complete stop and was getting ready to pull off when I saw a woman flying up to the intersection from the right. So, I waited, just to make sure she was going to stop. She stopped and looked right at me, so I started to pull away. She then proceeded to pull right out in front of me. I grabbed the brakes and hit the horn, and it was THEN that she actually looked at me. Apparently, when she first looked "at" me, she was looking THROUGH me. They DON'T see you, for whatever reason.

 

[DLIT]

don't rely on your horn. it may work the first couple times but be prepared to move out of harms way.
i leave my high beams on during the day just so oncoming traffic can see you better.
it's very important for you not to look at the cars in the other lane when you are turning(right turn specifically) because you will ride right into them. always look at the path you want to go. i know they say if your in a car and you look somewhere than you will go there. not as true as if you're just starting out ridding, believe me.
always be scanning the road for potholes or debris, especially around corners. loose gravel sucks.
try and get a low deductable on your insurance, that way if you go down and the bikes not totaled it will only cost a few hundo to get it fixed. laters-

 

[abnds]

One thing I learned was to check your equipment before you start riding.

 

[GsxrJack]

I think they see you just fine, they just dont care or think your on a pedal bike and can stop on a dime... :bash:

 

[super954]

Another thing when at a light or stop Watch behind you .Leave it in first gaer in case you need to move now !! I know this is a pain holdin in the clutch forever but when someone comes flyin up behind you . You'll be glad you did.

 

[pickle.of.doom]

The more reflective crap you have on the better!



Don't forget that painted lines and those big vinyl things they stick on the roads (crosswalks and such) are slippery as hell when wet, and not as sticky as pavement in dry either!

 

[GsxrJack]

The more reflective crap you have on the better!



Don't forget that painted lines and those big vinyl things they stick on the roads (crosswalks and such) are slippery as hell when wet, and not as sticky as pavement in dry either!

very good tip, those painted crosswalks etc are like ice when wet... :thumbs:

 

[chev]

Get a pipe...BE HEARD. Now, you don't have to get rediculous like I did but I had multiple incedents with people not seeing me and with a stock setup, I was really quiet...they dropped when I put the pipe on because they definitely heard me. Not saying it's bullet proof but the number of times people aren't aware of me has drastically decreased.

 

[DLIT]

if you go into a turn and halfway through you think your going too fast just lean more instead of prepping yourself for a bail.

 

[pickle.of.doom]

Ya know, I never really was a believer in the whole "loud pipes save lives" argument... but when I went from the stock pipes on my VTR, which are pretty quiet, to my 2 Bros slip ons, I was actually noticing people noticing me a lot more, and a lot sooner than normal.

 

[Gas Man]

Good one there Chev!! You're on a roll today!!

 

[bulldog]

Lets put up some safety tips that we use for riding. This will help out any newbie on a bike this season. And Bull...don't jack up my thread. This is for riding safety tips.

1. Cars don't see you. Any car you see in traffic, assume the driver has NOT seen you and will not see you. Ride accordingly.

2. Wear all your gear. If you do go down, that could be the difference between you being able to get back on a bike eventually and not. (I've gone down on the street before, gear helps. On that subject, watch for dogs & kids, they are unpredictable.)

3. If you are a new rider and are going on a group ride, let people know you are new. Post before that you are coming out. Someone will ride with you 9 times out of 10, and try to help you stay a bit safer. If you ask them after the ride, they will more than likely have some tips to help your riding improve.

4. When riding with a group, ride your own ride. What that means is: Ride at a speed you are comfortable at. Don't push harder to:
a) impress people (I'll be impressed by a new rider who is concerned with their own and my safety, not someone who 'rides like hell' to keep up)
b) not get left behind. It's ok to ask where the next meeting point is. Guys I ride with would never leave that point until everyone in the group has made it there. Also, make sure you know what some of the hand signals are that riders will use, and if you've never done it, ask about riding staggered.

5. Leave room. Don't crowd other riders / cars by riding too close. You'll be able to see the road better and it will give you more time to react to obstacles / potholes / sand & gravel etc.

6. Always look where you want to go. Don't look where you don't want to go. Why? Because you and your bike end up where you are looking.

7. Did I mention that cars won't see you?


Feel free to add any kink of tips that you use or pratice while riding alone or with a group. And remember..Ride Smart/Ride Safe....Arrive Safe. :dthumb:

i got first hand a couple times today

 

[GsxrJack]

i got first hand a couple times today

Bull, good thing to start out with is find an empty parking lot and practice stopping....do it easy at first, then try stopping harder and harder...getting used to stopping hard will be the best thing u can learn right now....

 

[Captain Morgan]

if you go into a turn and halfway through you think your going too fast just lean more instead of prepping yourself for a bail.

And, as mentioned in the first post, LOOK WHERE YOU WANT TO GO.

 

[bulldog]

yeah i am trien to get that down!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?

 

[jeeps84]

a) impress people (I'll be impressed by a new rider who is concerned with their own and my safety, not someone who 'rides like hell' to keep up)
b) not get left behind. It's ok to ask where the next meeting point is. Guys I ride with would never leave that point until everyone in the group has made it there. Also, make sure you know what some of the hand signals are that riders will use, and if you've never done it, ask about riding staggered.

The leader of our group rides always at least waits at a turn so that the next rider will know where they went and so forth. Then stops latter at a designated point for everybody to catch up.

We also use our feet to communicate turns and sand in the road. A leg out may mean The rider is turning that way or stepping out to pass or something on the road to that side of them.

This is our group way, we all know it and try to relay this to new people along for the ride.