Riding Skills and Safety

Photo: fasteddy760 | CC Many riders get acquainted with motorcycling on the street as adults. Well-informed riders know they need good education to stay safe on the street. After a few years, many riders start asking, "How can I get better?" And the answer is to ride less on the street and more in a controlled environment, free from soccer moms and teen-aged drivers. The best way to do that without breaking the bank is to take your weekend ride off road. What kind of bike should you get... Read more

Riding a motorcycle is tricky. It’s a learned skill. This is what makes it fun. It's also what makes it dangerous. Riders who plan on lasting longer than the summer have safety on their minds long before they ever throw a leg over. Even for people who never plan on riding a motorcycle, taking an introductory course to learn how to ride is an adventurous thing to spend the weekend doing. Managing your risk For those of us who love motorcycles, safety can be the furthest thing from... Read more

If you want to learn how to start, stop and hold your motorcycle on a hill, you’ll have to find a hill to get a bit of practice on. It is best to find a sparsely traveled portion of road with afew hilly sections, in order to minimize the risk of interfering with other traffic. This way, you’ll have plenty of time to practice your uphill launching and holding techniques without being worried about lots of traffic. Whenever you have to stop on an incline, bring the motorcycle to a ... Read more

Riding in a crosswind can be daunting at times. At some point in time, you will wonder how to deal with severe crosswinds, regrettably, this would most likely happen while you are in the process of fighting them! The surprise is that most of the time you really do not have to do anything ‘special’ and the motorcycle should not have a problem handling the majority of crosswinds with just the usual responses from you. However, it is true that it can sometimes be very difficult to ride... Read more

Performing a U-turn on a motorcycle is one of the toughest maneuvers, particularly for new riders. In fact, many veteran riders find U-turns so tricky because they rarely have the opportunity to practice. Here's a quick walkthrough to help you master the U-turn in tight spaces without dropping your bike. Step One: Prepare for the Turn It's best to start off going in a straight line before the actual turn to prepare and maintain a steady speed. Slip the clutch, open the throttle and gently... Read more

One of the most frustrating experiences a motorcycle owner can have is finding their bike tipped over due to a poor parking job. While such a risk always exists, it is heightened when a biker is forced to park a motorcycle on a hill. If the parking job is not done correctly, the damage done to the bike could be quite extensive. This is why you should be extremely careful when you attempt to park your bike on a hill. You should never be haphazard about the position you park in. The motorcycle ... Read more

How To Stay Safe When You Ride At Night? Plenty of research has been done looking into motorcycle safety. You can find enough stats to scare you away from your bike forever on Wikipedia’s Motorcycle Safety page. These are some of the spookier statistics: According to the U.S. National Highway Transportation Safety Administration, Motorcyclists are 35 times more likely to die in a fatal accident as drivers of other types of vehicles. According to a national study by the Australian Transp... Read more

This year I celebrate riding motorcycles for 50 years, and dealing with accidents for 40 years. I hope I learned something in all that time that might be useful to other riders, so here it is. Is it safe to ride a motorcycle? Years ago, I remember discussing this question with Luke Lucarelli. He was known as the “million mile motorcyclist”, because he had more than a million miles under his belt. He set up the CHP motorcycle training program, and he taught motorcycle riding and safety,... Read more

Although motorcycle hand gestures are something that most riders learn as part of their motorcycle license exams, often they are forgotten and not used when actually needed. For example, if your signal lights are damaged, or if you’re riding in a large group, communication between riders via hand signals are critical to staying safe at all times. Here’s a useful infographic to help serve as a refresher for some of the more common hand signals. Click image to enlarge: Left tur... Read more

Should I get a scooter or a motorcycle? Frequently new riders who want to migrate to two wheeled motorized vehicles may consider a scooter instead because it’s a more economical solution, but may be terrified of the power of some motorcycle engines. Buying a scooter can be a great alternative. Scooters are virtually mini motorcycles. However, a scooter will have the rider sitting upright and feet will be resting on floorboards instead of pegs.  There’s no shifting involved either. ... Read more