“Driving a motorcycle is like flying. All your senses come alive.” -Hugh Laurie Taking that motorcycle out for a spin can be an exhilarating experience. Whether you are a newbie to the bike or a motorcycle veteran, summer weather and clear skies make for an ideal riding experience. There are, however, important safety tips to remember while out on the road. These tips can help you avoid injury or even worse, as motorcycle riding can be dangerous no matter who is operating the vehicle. We spend so much time on social media that we have come across some random video of Motorcyclists getting in an accident due to their lack of skills or some 'XYZ' external factor. But, have you ever tried putting yourself in that scenario & making it out of there without a scratch? It takes more than watching & reading blogs to get that experience & the only way to experience these scenarios is when you are out riding. But even before that, I ask you to give this blog a read. It will give you the perspective of some scenarios that happen more often than you think.
1. Turns:
This is probably the easiest thing that people think of while riding. "Curvy road ahead! Let me lean into it...". A lot of those times, these folks can be seen lying on the side of the road or riding the guard-rail.
While dealing with a turn, one needs to think about 2 basic things: The speed while entering the turn & the braking aspect of it.
The speed is determined by how deep the turn is and what your comfort level is leaning on your bike (considering that your bike can lean that much. Different bikes have different lean angles). Remember to slow down to a speed that you can handle before you enter the turn.
Braking is tricky. Technically, one should never use braking while making a turn. The simple reason is physics. It messes up the dynamics of the tire when applied with force. Now, truth be told, we all have used them while turning & made out alive but that's only until next time. This is where one needs to understand Progressive braking. Progressive braking is a method of using variable brake force to slow the car with a light start to the braking then an increase of braking force to slow the car before finishing the braking lightly. It is good to use progressive braking on a turn as you are gradually increasing the effectiveness of your brakes & not applying all at once which will cause your tire to lose all grip & put you at risk. Another kind of braking comes from the soul of our bike, the Engine Braking. Simply defined, it's the process of slowing down a vehicle by stepping off the accelerator and downshifting gears instead of pressing on the brake pedal. The braking system on a vehicle is responsible for slowing it down while driving. This is the best way to control your bike while making a turn, especially under rainy & slippery conditions.
2. Oil on the road:
Traction is a concern anytime you are on a motorcycle. Some part of your mind should be addressing it whenever you ride. It is a primary issue when you are braking or cornering, a moderate concern while you are accelerating, and still of little interest when you are riding straight at a steady speed. It can even be an issue when you stop and put your foot down.
Actually, it is not traction you are thinking about. Your mind is worrying about all those things that can eliminate tractionwater, oil, coolant, diesel fuel, gasoline, sand, dirt, plasticized sealants, ice, and tree sap, to name a few.
Your first line of detection is normally your eyes, but sometimes slippery stuff can be deceiving. Occasionally an oil slick looks like a tar patch. Sand can look like a slightly different pavement composition. Diesel fuel or coolant can appear as just a slight, nearly invisible sheen on the road.
What do you do if you see a strip of oil in a corner you will have to cross? Slow down and tighten your arc before you reach it and cross it as upright as possible with no brakes and the throttle in neutral. The oil will stay on your tires for a few rotations, so continue with caution, avoiding hard turns or braking.
If the oil was dumped in the middle of a corner, the line of fuel or oil is likely to simply follow the bend of the corner all the way through. You will have to decide whether to ride inside or outside of it. In a right-hand bend, staying inside is usually the best idea, especially if you can see it goes all the way through the corner. In a left-hander, staying clear of the line of spilled fluid might place you too close to the oncoming lane, so you'll have to decide if there is enough room to stay safely inside of it. In any event, the best approach is to slow down so your need for traction is reduced and you can straighten up to cross the slick as needed.
3. Cemented Grovved roads:
These have become very common, especially if you live in TX where literally all Highways are cemented. Handling them depends on the type of grooved pavement, on the motorcycle, and on your tires.
There are several kinds of grooving used on roads. The one I have the most experience with is called “Innovative Diamond Grind”. The purpose of it was to lessen tire noise.
On a larger touring bike with radial tires, there is almost no effect on the bike.
However, on a smaller and lighter bike with skinnier bias-ply tires, these grooves cause a significant amount of shaking in the handlebars. This is annoying and disconcerting, but it’s not really harmful unless you try to fight it with a tight grip on the bars. If you do that, it will cause the whole bike to wander left and right. One way to deal with it is to just ride it out, letting it shake. The other way is to gently swerve left and right within your lane so that you are crossing the grooves at an angle instead of following them. Grooved pavement does not cause any permanent damage to a motorcycle.
4. Wreckless Driving:
Pretty much self-explanatory. If I have to explain this, you should just stay at home. Seriously!
5. Rain:
Rain makes the asphalt slick, and some areas are much more dangerous than others—painted lines, tar snakes, manhole covers, metal bridges, and metal bridge expansions.
Also, never stop in the middle of the lane. That rainbow of colors caused by oil or diesel residue is much slicker than anything else on the road. I’ve witnessed two riders drop their bikes at stops—one for using too much front brake in the middle of the lane, and another who was to the right of the lane, but put his left foot down on the slippery stuff and lost his balance.
Railroad crossings are extremely slick during rain, and railroad tracks deserve their own focus. When approaching wet railroad tracks while riding motorcycles in the rain, take them on as close to perpendicular as safely possible, as it is less likely the tires will slide on the steel.
Keep the bike upright. Using body lean to help keep the bike upright with more rubber on the ground increases traction. When leaning off the bike, do so in a smooth transition so you don’t upset the chassis. A great rule of thumb for rain riding on any type of bike is to “stick your head in the mirrors”. The average human head weighs about ten pounds without a helmet. This extra weight can assist you through turns, allowing the bike to remain more upright.
Practice this in the dry first—your visual perspective changes, so train yourself to ride comfortably with your head in the mirror. Keep in mind that you might not want to try this if you’re riding a bike with huge apes.
Braking in rain. Ah!! The question with no perfect answer. I mentioned smooth transitions if using body positioning to keep the bike upright. Smoothness is also needed for all aspects of riding—most importantly the brakes. Don’t grab the brake lever sharply, and use the rear brake in combination with the front. For cruisers, I rely on 50/50 braking technique in the rain; for all others, about 80 front/20 rear in the rain. Using the rear brake also helps stabilize the chassis, which is a must for the ultimate safe riding in the rain.
6. Unpaved road/potholes/gravel:
In any of the above-mentioned situations, it's best to maintain the momentum the motorcycle already has and slow down gradually, with very light use of both brakes. Your tires will slide easily, even on a light gravel surface, so if you brake too hard too fast you'll likely produce a skid, lose control of the motorcycle and you may go down. Use engine braking to reduce speed when require and maintain upright positions for maximum traction.
7. Hitting stationary object or Target Fixation:
Target fixation is a panic reflex. When confronted with a dangerous situation or something unusual suddenly appearing in our field of vision, our natural instinct is to look directly at the object posing the threat and exclude everything else. Unable to look away and even consider an escape route, we tend to go where our eyes take us, often directly into the object. Your vision and where you are looking is a critical part of avoiding panic altogether as well as dealing with it when it does occur. As always, keep your eyes up when riding with your vision far down the road or track. On the street, your gaze should be constantly searching for potential hazards. Coping with panic is a matter of having a plan for whatever situation arises and executing that plan in a calm manner. Here is a video that covers some of these scenarios.
All i ask is to take 20mins out & try to picture yourself in these scenarios & see what you could have done.
Remember that when riding in a group, a domino effect follows. 1 goes down, we all go down. So, not only think about your safety but also things about others. I have covered some of those in my previous blogs.
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