How to NOT crash

[WildKat]

How to NOT crash...

Feel free to add your thoughts and suggestions as well 8)


1. You can't become faster overnight: Build your speed slowly. Braking 30 yards later than normal and taking a corner 40mph faster is a recipe for disaster.

2. Give your Tires a chance: ... to build up heat before giving it some. Even pros get caught out with cold tires.

3. Test Your Brakes: As soon as you set out. You never know when you might need 'em in a hurry so its good to know how hard you can squeeze 'em.

4. Leave your Ego at home: And never try to catch faster riders. There's always someone out there quicker than you - you don't need to go through a hedge to find out who.

5. Let the fast boys go: Especially when riding in a group. Just because they can get round that corner at 95mph doesn't mean you can. Experience, Tires, suspension, and local knowledge all count.

6. Smooth, smooth, smooth: Real roads are ****ty, greasy places so you can't snap the throttle open and slam on the brakes like your GP heroes. The key to swift road riding is smoothness.

7. They're out to get me: Treat every motorist as a psychopathic biker-killer and you won't go far wrong. Ride defensively and give them a wide berth whenever possible.

8. Look after your bike: Lube and adjust your chain, check your tire pressures and tire wear and replace your brake pads regularly.

9. Right time, Right place: Road positioning is crucial both to see and be seen. Position yourself to see as far as possible round corners while always asking yourself if that numbskull car driver can see you.

10. Never ride if you feel below par: Whether its a hangover, tiredness, or some other mental distraction, it's just not worth. There's always tomorrow.

11. Scan, scan, scan: Register absolutely EVERYTHING that's going on around you. Road surfaces, traffic, kiddies playing behind parked cars, pedestrians, weather conditions, what gear you're in.... No imformation is useless.

[USCGC_Katana]

I like the picture change Matt (not as cool as the KISS Pic, but cool.) (Getting ready for the ralley.) I like the advice better. All I can add is if you are new to riding like me, go practice in a parking lot or where ever it has helped me. Even while you drive, try to put yourself on your bike and use mental pictures to aid you when you ride. My $0.02
hope it helps. Thanks

[stb000013]

This should be a sticky. Good information for new riders, and probably some experienced.

[WildKat]

Yeah I think its pretty information for riders of all skill levels to keep in mind. We can all use a refresher now and then even on somethings we all do or know we should be doing 8) .

I'll probably stick the thread once its run its course and got some good replies and additional information.

[chilipepper]

I like it, good advice. Thank you

[stb000013]

I'd like to add....

12. Respect If you stop respecting your machine, it will show you no mercy in the face of error.

[Kat-A-Tonic]

Thanks for the advice.

[The CyberPoet]

13. Fix little things. Little parts and service issues have a way of snowballing into very critical failures when you least expect them (and often very expensive ones). Always fix the little things when they crop up rather than letting them wait.

14 (or 8b). Pre-Ride Checklist EVERY DAY YOU GET ON THE BIKE. Simple things like tire pressure (cold), adding a little bit of chain lube and cleaning brake rotors will go a long, long way to making sure that your tires don't give out under you, that you chain doesn't snap and wrap your leg or front sprocket, and that your brakes will stop in the shortest possible distance. A rear tire with a screw that's 10 lbs low will look just like a fully-sealed fully-inflated tire -- but can kill you. A tire pressure check will make you notice that the tire lost 10 lbs since yesterday. A front rotor coated with oily-grime looks almost identical to a perfectly healthy front rotor, but it can kill you.

15. Gear Up. Get used to riding with all your gear is the only way to have it transparent to your reactions when you encounter a panic situation. Don't get caught out like a few people I know who rarely wear their gear and then when they do (because they are hot-dogging), find that the neck fitment on the collar chaffing and distracting them, which contributed to why they wrecked.

16. Adjust those controls. Having the controls fall where your hands naturally rest means a world of difference in the speed of your reactions and how fatigued you get riding. The levers can be rotated slightly in their mounts, and the bars they ride on can also be rotated some, permitting you to set the controls right for almost any rider's natural body position.

17. Practice Panicing. There is no better practice for avoiding panic situations than practicing actively for them when there is no risk. Do a panic stop, some avoidance drills regularly. Personally, I don't care if anyone sees me thinks I'm a loon -- if the road I'm currently on is empty, I'm more than willing to do them on my way from A to B in my regular riding (as verses to finding a special place and time to do them).

18. Don't Panic. The worst thing that can happen is a panic reaction where you are not capable of reaching a decision on what to do and whatever happens just happens. Don't. If you can't figure out what to do, follow this general panic rule: eyes to where you need to go (not what you want to avoid), clutch in, brakes off, throttle released, concetrate solely on steering where you need the bike to go. It's not the right solution for everything, but it will get you out of most panic reactions situations without killing you while your brain is frozen.

Cheers,
=-= The CyberPoet

[BassKat]

Just caught this one on the message board. First 11 suggestions are great as are the 7 that follow. And the one about not riding when you feel below par....how often I'm tempted to go out too soon after a long night, little sleep. Yup, another day will happen soon enough when the brain and body will (should?) work 100%. Solid advice that can't be repeated enough.