10 TIPS THAT WILL SAVE YOUR LIFE

I pinched the following from Two Wheels magazine.

I recommend everyone reads it & then reads it again

1 Posture
We know you like to admire yourself in shop windows as you pass by. When you're riding something as stylish as a motorcycle, who could blame you? Next time, however, pay a little more attention. Are you slouched over? Are you sitting ram rod straight? Are you alert but not alarmed?

The way you sit on a bike has a lot to do with how comfortable you are in a more general sense. Too slouched and you're not in a position to make rapid changes of direction when needed. Too stiff and you're in danger of putting too much input into the 'bars. The best way is to be relaxed, yet neutral.

Check yourself when you're riding. If you're too slouched, then pull your socks up. There's no excuse for being sloppy. If your back is ram rod straight and your elbows are locked tight, then you're not only riding dangerously, you're also stressing too much.

Stress will manifest itself in clenched teeth, a death grip on the handlebars and nagging pains under the shoulder blades. Recognise any symptoms?

Don't worry, it's easily fixed. Every now and then, cheek that your elbows are slightly bent and that you can waggle your elbows from side to side, Work up to trying it in the middle of a corner. It you're relaxed enough to have a bit of a flap when you're cornering, then you're relaxed enough to enjoy the ride. Having bent elbows also allows your arms to soak up the odd bump by bending rather than by transmitting the force into steering input via the 'bars.

2 Look up
Now you're sitting comfortably, ifs time to start taking stock of your surroundings. If you're new to riding, you might find that everything happens very quickly. Don't worry, it will all slow down in time as you get more experienced. What can you do to speed up the process? Start by looking where you want to go.

It sounds simple, but it's a difficult skill to master in practice. When you spot a pothole in the road and keep watching it, chances are you'll hit it, Its called target fixation. You go where you look.

Try practising the skill by looking at the smooth bit of tarmac to the side of the pothole instead and that’s where you'll go.

The same applies in traffic. If a car brakes suddenly in front of you, don't look at it, look to the sides for an escape path. Look where you want to go and that's where you'll head.

3 Braking
Just like on a pushbike, you've got a choice of brakes on a motorcycle. Actually, you've got another choice (engine braking just from closing the throttle), but let's stick with the controls.

The right hand lever operates the front brake and the right hand foot pedal operates the rear. Just like on a push bike, enthusiastic use of the brake pedal will lock up the rear wheel. Not to worry, it's completely controllable.

Locking up the front, on the other hand, is to be avoided. Here's how.

When you operate the front brake, the mass of the bike and rider keeps moving forward thanks to inertia, while the friction between the tyre and the road surface tries to prevent it. Some of the energy is dissipated by the front suspension using up its travel. That's why you feel the front end of the bike dipping down, or “diving". If you brake too suddenly, the weight transference that causes the diving is very abrupt. That forces the suspension to compress and then, if the front wheel hits a bump, there is no suspension left to deal with it and the bump can force the tyre off the road, the brakes grab the wheel and stop it from turning in that instant and then it hits the road with no directional stability and so do you. Sound nasty? It is. There's a cure.

When you brake ease on the front. Easing the lever on allows the suspension to adjust to the weight transference and still have some suspension action to deal with bumps. Once you have set up the brakes in this way, you can squeeze far harder than the point that would have caused lock up if you hadn't set them up.

While it sounds like this might take aeons to do, in practice, it’s only milliseconds once it becomes habit. For this reason, it makes sense not to ride with your fingers draped over the brake levers “just in case". The fraction of a second that it takes to get your fingers from the grips to the brake levers is usually enough to stop the panic squeeze that might result in an accident.

4 Steering
This is one area that gets a lot of feedback. The physics of steering. How do you turn a motorcycle? Good luck or good management. Despite all the in depth stuff about leaning, tyre contact patch, rake and trail dimensions, bodyweight, etc which all have some level of input into steering the one thing you have to understand is counter steering.

The simple physical law of a spinning gyroscope (the wheel) and its resistance to change in axis (via the handlebars) is so counter intuitive as to make people doubt its existence. Here's what happens.

If you hold a spinning bicycle wheel by its axles and try to turn the axle to the right, the wheel will immediately want to lean to the left. This gyroscopic precession doesn't require any road surface for friction or tyre contact patch, or anything other than its own spinning mass and a change of axis orientation.

If you ride a motorcycle and you turn the handlebars to the right, the motorcycle will turn to the left, Once you have reached a certain road speed, maybe 20km/h or so. Chances are, if you have ever ridden a pushbike, motorcycle or scooter then you'll have counter steered to initiate a turn, even without realising it.

Once you know how it works, however, it becomes one of the most useful weapons in your armoury, allowing you to make very rapid changes in direction to avoid errant, cars, trucks, dogs and pedestrians.

5 Cornering
This is half the fun of riding when you get it right, and half the fear when you get it wrong. Don't worry, getting it right is easy. Here's how.

The general rules are simple. Brake before a corner, accelerate through it and look where you want to go. That wasn't too hard, was it?

Corner entry speed is perhaps the most critical aspect. Tyres have only a finite amount of traction. You can use it for cornering or for braking or for a combination of both, but ifs better to get the braking done early to give your tyres enough traction for cornering.

Accelerating through a corner helps to keep the bike's drivetrain loaded up and the rear wheel driving, aiding the front wheel's traction. Shutting the throttle mid corner if you feel you're going to fast is a mistake because it upsets the attitude of the bike and your control over it.

Far better to ease on the rear brake, countersteer a little more and look where you want to go. Gentle application of the rear brake actually makes the bike steer into a corner a little more, and stops the front end 'pushing'.

6 Positioning
This is an absolutely critical part of riding safely. Of course you will position yourself on the road to avoid potholes and other surface imperfections.

But you will also position yourself behind a car so that you can see the driver's face in BOTH the side and rear vision mirrors. Otherwise, you're in a blind spot

You'll also position yourself on the left hand side of the road leading into a right hand corner and to the right of your lane leading into a right-hand corner.

This smoothes out the turn, meaning you have to use less lean angle to get around. It also allows you to see further around the corner, making it safer.

7 Buffering
This is tied up with positioning and is especially important if you carry a pillion as buffering will make them feel much safer. The basic element is creating space, or a buffer, between you and other vehicles on the road. Stay at least three seconds behind the vehicle in front. If someone passes you and invades your buffer, drop back a bit. If someone is tailgating you, let them past. There is no chequered flag on the road.

In traffic, create a buffer to the right and left wherever possible. Be aware of what the traffic is doing around you and try to create enough escape routes in case of sudden braking or lane changing. The more you think about it, the more it becomes second nature. On the open road, ride towards the middle of the road, near the centreline. This gives you better visibility and the option of going right or left when you come up on an obstacle. When oncoming traffic approaches, move to the left hand wheel track. This gives you space, calms your pillion and the movement gives you more chance of being seen by the oncoming traffic. Similarly, move to the left on blind crests, just in case

8 Look ahead
The real trick to rider safety is roadsense, the ability to read and predict traffic. It comes with experience, but you can hurry it along. Play “What If….” What if that car pulls out? What if that truck turns in front of me? What if a drunk driver runs that red light? Create a mental database of situations you can get out of, so that when they happen, you'll have the appropriate response at hand. The aim is to identify problems before they become situations and to avoid them before they become dramas.

9 Maintenance
Two words sum up motorcycle maintenance for most of us. Crucial and overlooked. All the skill and rider training in the world will count for nought in an emergency if your tyres are bald or flat, or your brakes don't work.

Motorcycles come with handbooks containing routine maintenance tips for a reason. But, of course, it is always tempting just to jump on and go without taking the time to make a quick pre trip cheek.

Tyre pressures and condition are the most important cheeks. Remember, the tyres are all that's between you and the road. Cheek pressures at least weekly or every time you fill up. Your tyres will work better and last longer. Don't wait for the wear bars moulded into your tyre to show before you consider replacement. Motorcycle tyres spend more time on their centres than at the edges and so will wear unevenly. While tread depth is an issue, a worn profile is more so, as it will make the steering and cornering less predictable and reliable.

Check your brakes, too. If you have a drum rear brake, make sure you know how to adjust it as simple as turning a knob, or nut. Cheek your indicators too. It seems some car drivers need all the help we can give thorn in terms of visibility.

10 Rider Training
The best way to become a better, safer rider is to book yourself in for some rider training. Sounds easy. It's important to know, however, that there are two general categories of training to choose from.

One is skills based, teaching you how to brake, corner, etc; and it’s fantastic for teaching you the appropriate skills for survival on the road and to enjoy your riding more.

The other is attitude based, and aims to increase your road sense to the point where you will never need the skills you learned in the skill based training because you've identified and dealt with hazards before they become dangerous.

The two streams of rider training go hand in hand, and we'd recommend seeking out both, or at least courses that combine elements of each.

Rider training, where someone else looks dispassionately at your riding, is after all the best remedy for all manner of bad habits. It's a lot of fun, too!

Remember, any money spent on your bike goes with it when you sell. Any money spent on making yourself a better rider stays with you forever.

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WHEN IT ALL GOES WRONG

Sometimes crashes happen in slow motion, with every detail unfolding before your eyes in an almost freeze frame calm before normal service is resumed as soon as you hit the ground. At other times, it's over before you realise it's begun. And then the pain kicks in.

Despite all the fuss, crashing isn't so bad if…. you don't hit anything. With proper protective gear, you can slide a long way before anything starts to burn or wear through. That's why racetracks are the best places for heroics.

On the road there is just too much furniture to hit. If you have crashed, it’s a good idea to relax as much as possible. A tense body will get more badly injured then a loose one. Let go of the bike. Inertia will mean it will go a lot further than you. And you don't want to be a part of that, especially if it starts rotting.

Try to get on your back and lift your head if you're sliding so you can see where you're going and, with a bit of luck, steer away from obstacles,

Once you stop (and you'll only try to get up while you're still moving once) take a quick stock of your condition. If you're in danger of getting run over and you're able, move to the side of the road. Otherwise play it by whatever injuries you have. Remember you may not be the best qualified person to make a decision. Don't worry about the bike, I know it’s hard, but you're more important.

If you're in any doubt, get checked out at hospital or by a doctor. We need all the readers we can keep,

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HOW 10 GET HOME SAFELY
• Leave plenty of room in front of you. Just accept they can brake better
• In corners, it's in slow and wide, out fast and narrow
• Crashing on a left hand corner puts you in the path of oncoming traffic
• Re evaluate your decisions constantly to take into account changing conditions
• Don't ride tired. Make sure you're alert, especially heading back into the city late afternoon after a day of fun in the mountains
• Enrol in another rider training course

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THE DIRTY DOZEN

EXCESSIVE SPEED
Inappropriate speed is identified as an issue in 24 per cent of motorcycle crashes (compared with 10 per cent of car crashes). The jury is out on the methods used to ascertain these figures since the dynamics of single track vehicles are rarely taken into account, particularly in terms of road surfaces with poor traction.

CURVES
Crashes on curves are most likely to be the fault of the rider, even when another vehicle is involved. Research has suggested that road surface and rider error in braking and cornering are more important than speed as contributing factors.

REAR-END COLLISIONS
Almost one in five of all multi vehicle crashes, and we hit them more than they hit us. Hang back a bit.

RIGHT OF WAY VIOLATIONS
The scary one. Sorry mate, I didn’t see you. Take extra care at T intersections and crossroads. Make eye contact.

LANE CHANGING SWIPES
Some 79 per cent are due to the other driver, and most take place in left hand corners or lane changes to the left. Poor mirror positioning and use are obvious culprits, as is inattention. It's up to you not to sit in a vulnerable position, and to be aware of the peril at your right shoulder in traffic.

FATIGUE
More than one third of motorcycle crashes occur on the weekend and 15 per cent of fatalities are on Saturday and Sunday afternoon and evening, when riders are heading home after a day's ride. Fatigue leads to bad decisions and bad decisions lead to problems.

ALCOHOL
Riders are two and a half times more likely to have illegal blood alcohol levels than car drivers in crashes (though unlicensed riders are over re presented in these statistics). Just take a taxi, okay?

INATTENTIONAL BLINDNESS
If you're not expecting to see it, you won't see it. And you'll turn right in front of it. This one's for the car drivers.

DRIVER EXPECTATION
Apparently drivers who neither ride motorcycles nor know a motorcyclist are over represented in car/bike crashes. No really. See above.

CONSPICUITY
If you're hard to see, you're hard to see. Conspicuity means more than just bright colours and lights on. The background, your positioning and the above two points all play a part.

DRIVER DISTRACTION
Mobile phones, passengers, kids, DVDs, smoking, eating and having sex while they're driving. Is it any wonder we give them a wide berth?

ROAD CONDITIONS
Sand, diesel, overbanding, steel plates, potholes, Armco, wire rope fencing, trees, poles, bus shelters It's a war zone out there.

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RESOURCES
There are many resources available to motorcyclists, and the few quoted here are by no means an exhaustive list. By searching the websites of your local state transport body you may uncover material that is specific to your region. Search more widely and you may find more general information.

Motorcycle Council of NSW: the website has a mass of information for riders (not just from NSW) and is particularly strong on protective equipment http://www.mccofnsw.org.au

The RTA has a new motorcycle handbook, recently updated with a lot of input from former rider trainer and buffering guru Duncan McRae. The handbook is available as a free PDF download, but much of the riding information is also available on line in the motorcycle safety part of the site. RTA has also launched a new rider safety campaign, http://www.rta.nsw.gov.au

Victoria's TAC has another site worth visiting. There you'll find more tips and techniques, as well as a chance to get a RIDE Smart interactive CD, with about five hours worth of good motorcycle content http://www.tac.vic.gov.au

Survive the Ride, a NSW local government motorcycle safety initiative also has a recommended website, together with the RIDE Smart interactive CD.
http://www.survivetheride.org.au

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All good, but I think that the rear wheel lockups are down-played here. Rear wheel sliding isn't too bad, but a rear wheel lockup I find hairier than a FW lockup. The bolt has a progressive rear that isn't too savage by my way of thinking. Just right

Wow, today when I was driving (sorry) home from work, I was behind a guy on a Hyosung Aquila (could tell by the ENORMOUS can) and being a fellow rider, I was conscious of not sitting too close behind him... I actually make a point of tailing a bike in traffic whenever I can cause I feel, as a fellow rider, I want to protect other riders (yeh, sounds lame) and be a buffer for them. ANYWAY, this guy turned up the same street, going in the same direction as myself. It was a tight ascending left hander and my street was the first street to the right at the top of the rise...He went to turn and the next thing I know is he completely locks the rear and does a slidey into a traffic Island....It was all at a slow speed and he stayed right side up. A different story if I was up his arse.... I guess he is probably a newby or R2R (returning to riding) and accidently changed into first as he turned the corner and compression locked the rear...
It's easy to do on a twin for sure. I did it a few times on my sv650 but the thou has a slipper clutch and is alot more forgiving on down shifts... He started it back up and rode away with a wave. He must've scared himself because he didn't cancel his indicator all the way down the street..

Great tips btw and it doesn't hurt Old dogs to revisit old tricks...

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Is V-twin, Is goood.....

over the last couple of weeks i have crashed twice....

NO NOT ON THE BUELL

but on 2 different bikes.. both in the rain .. both on the race track
and both times it happened so fast that all i knew was that i was sliding the wrong way !!
i was thinking... "hey WTF..."
then it hit me... i was NOT on the bike...

it was amazing what make ya laugh and where ya laugh....
there i was, sliding along on my butt, ROUND a rather fast corner ( corner one, right hander, 2nd gear)
laughing.. also, thinking.... where the hell is my bike..... then realizing that i should be concerned about the other bikes coming .....

but both times i found my bike, got back on and finished the race..
yes i AM a hero... to the guy in the mirror

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single white male...looking for single woman to enjoy the road trip with...ok... 2 would be better..

Very interesting read... cheers for posting it Lazza.
On a Kiwi Forum I looked at this morning there was a thread posted by a guy who said he had been riding for a few years but wanted to know ‘how to ride’...go figure? I guess what he really was asking is “ whats the acknowledged right way to do stuff?" I might steal this and post it on there :-)

Braking: Well having ridden Harleys for years I am used to having a fairly non-existant back brake. The X1s is just right...effective but not scary. The front is primo of course but I tend to spread my braking between the two...
A question I have asked frequently and had conflicting answers to is "when riding in gravel on a road bike and you have to stop suddenly which brake should you be going for???”

Also that technique of light back brake while in a corner is known as Trailing and it WORKS! I do it instinctively and didn’t realise it was a bone-fide technique til reading about it in a bike mag.
Gives ya really good control and smooth lines while cornering. Of course you don’t need it on every corner but it definately has its place.
Remember though, we are talking LIGHT back brake and the back brake varies greatly from bike to bike.
Case in point: I was going into a 35km corner on the 1125R and decided that I was going a wee bit fast and so I touched the back brake with the same pressure I would apply on the X1... damn thing just about came to a complete stop!!!!!!! And I wobbled around the corner cursing myself! LOL.

Following distances: I am a bad bad girl. Without realising it my following distance has been getting shorter and shorter over the years, maybe its cos I am riding more aggressively? I dunno? maybe its because I am lulled into a false sense of ‘she’ll be right, I know what I’m doing’?
I was using the excuse that I was riding with a gixxer all the time so had to be right on his tail to be able to stay with him when he unleashed it on the straights... but really there is no excuse and I learnt my lesson the hard way.
Yep I now freely admit that lack of following distance was a factor when our group of bikes hit that unmarked gravel last year. Hindsight is a wonderful thing and I now think that its quite possible the bin wouldn’t have happened if I’d had more space in which to avoid the bike in front ... ah well like I say...I learnt the hard way!

It makes me wonder how many other bad habits I may have picked up but may be unaware of.
A days rider training course is on the cards in the near future. Friends have done this course and come away going “shit that was well worth it, I have actually picked up some new skills!”

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If you haven't the strength to impose your own terms upon life, then you must accept the terms it offers you.

Gotta agree BB - I have always done this.

A few years back those courses were poo-pooed by riders who had been doing it a few years, there was a bit of a "its only for noobies" attitude.
These days there has been a refreshing change of heart and I welcome that!
The more skilled confident riders on our roads the better!

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If you haven't the strength to impose your own terms upon life, then you must accept the terms it offers you.

When I did the "Advanced Riding Skills" with Stay Upright the instructor told us a funny story
He said way back when they 1st started doing these courses it was originally called something like "Beginner Riding Skills"
They hardly got any attendees as no one wanted to be seen doing a "beginner course"
They then changed the name of the course to Advanced (without changing any content)
After that all the courses were booked out in advance as so may ppl "needed" to update their advanced riding skills

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hahaha
its the same over here

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If you haven't the strength to impose your own terms upon life, then you must accept the terms it offers you.

Was out on the bike all weekend with my cohorts in the Slappas MC (but thats another thread entirely LOL) and yesterday while I was riding along I was thinking about this whole counter-steering bizzo and the way it was explained in this thread.

So I decided to test it out. Riding along at 120kph and pulled gently on the right handlebar, sure enuf the bike wants to go left and vice versa. Usually I just ride without analysing what it is I am actually doing so when I really thought about what I was doing it was kinda hardcase, the physics of it is really quite interesting.

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If you haven't the strength to impose your own terms upon life, then you must accept the terms it offers you.