Most Important Things to Know For a Motorcycling n00b.

[duck]

Parking:

a) In a normal parking lot, park your bike towards the rear of the parking space. If you pull all of the way forward then someone might assume the space is empty and try whipping into the "empty" parking space, not seeing your bike until it's too late.

b) Try to avoid parallel parking behind another vehicle. A motorcycle is harder to see and people will back over your bike.

c) Pay attention to where your wheels are and don't let them sit in puddles of oil/anti-freeze. From my experience this seems to be most prevalent at 7-11s and auto parts stores.

d) Try to avoid parking your bike pointing downhill. It's a pain if you have to back it up to get it out of the parking spot.

e) Always leave your bike in gear when parked, especially on downhill inclines.

[abhibeckert]

Learn your bikes limits. Find out how much acceleration/braking will get you on one wheel, find out how wet it needs to be to change that into a skid. You want to be able to instinctively and instantly adjust your throttle or brakes
to get out of these situtuations.

Keep in mind your position on the seat will change everything, and so will tyres.

[NEVERLOST]

without a doubt. I mentioned white, but any hi vis makes more sense than a matte black lid...

Originally Posted by redge

My understanding is that this idea, which has a lot of currency on the internet, is based on a New Zealand study. One of the authors of the study delivered a paper which is available on the internet. The finding is not entirely consistent with what other studies have found about colour in relation to emergency vehicles. In the paper, she says that what they found in New Zealand may be the result of the fact that police officers there are associated with white - can't remember right now whether it's that police cars are white or that they use white helmets. She raised the possibility that in the absence of that kind of social conditioning/recognition, yellow or orange may be equally or more visible.

Shoei (but not Arai or Shark for some reason) makes helmets in solid white, orange and yellow. Having read the paper and a couple on emergency vehicles/school buses, and thinking about the geographic colours where I live, I decided to go with yellow. My bike is white :)

[xymotic]

Originally Posted by NEVERLOST

without a doubt. I mentioned white, but any hi vis makes more sense than a matte black lid...

Not just for safety either. I had (have) a flat black helmet, because it was too good a deal to pass up. While I've never actually noticed it once you get riding and air in it, it has gotten so hot you literally could not touch it when I've stopped places.

I'm 100% positive it has to be hotter inside as well, but I can't really prove that theory, maybe cuz it's already fried my brain.

[xymotic]

Originally Posted by DAKEZ

Shaddup you.

[dwoodward]

Originally Posted by xymotic

I'm 100% positive it has to be hotter inside as well, but I can't really prove that theory, maybe cuz it's already fried my brain.

I thought someone did a test on that, and a black helmet with airflow was the same temp inside as a white one. Maybe the shell gets hotter at stops. Then again, a helmet has at least the same level of insulation as a picnic cooler.

I've never let it bother me; I wear an AC-12 Carbon because- well, if I have to explain naked carbon fiber to you, you probably won't get it. When I'm wearing my helmet is as sexy as my head gets! (and with the mohawk on it, it's also as much "hair" as I've had in decades...)

[kimel]

Excellent thread!

As a sometimes driver of emergency vehicles with all manner of bright colors, flashing lights, sirens and the like I can tell you that the cagers are so freaking oblivious that more often than not they do not see emergency vehicles either. I do not care how much hi-viz you are wearing you aren't as big, bright and loud as an ambulance running code so you have no prayer of being seen.

If your bike has a reserve feature, remember to return the petcock to the non-reserve setting BEFORE fueling. Otherwise there is a very good chance you will forget after fueling and next time you need the reserve you won't have it. Been there, done that...twice.

[Rider2205]

These are going to sound dumb and obvious, but taking myself back 31 years ago, this is some of the advice I needed:

1. Riding with no shirt and no helmet isn't cool. Buy the gear and wear it all the time.
2. Check your tires' air pressure regularly (ideally every ride). Replace your tires while they still have some tread.
3. Jersey barriers + construction = sand and gravel spots on highways
4. Watch out for dogs, deer, and other critters.
5. Learn about countersteering and practice it.
6. Get some professional rider training (Your friend's stoner older brother teaching you to do wheelies does not count as professional rider training.)
8. Wet leaves and steel plates are really slippery.
9. If you can't ride at your own pace, don't ride with others.
10. Don't drink and ride, period.

[Blue&Yellow]

Lots of good advice

Some more on how to get a feel for a bike more quickly:

1. Get a feel for the engine and gears: with a warm engine don't use full throttle but s-l-o-w-l-y rev it out in first gear, then in second. Then shift up and down and feel how the engine behaves and responds at different rpm and different gears. Try different gears while keeping a steady speed and so on. A common new rider mistake is to always shift to the highest gear possible since that's what you do in a car, with a motorcycle you will find that it often rides better in a lower gear and with less throttle. The engine will be more responsive and run smoother, don't worry about fuel consumption since bike engines are tuned for higher rpm than cars and sometimes higher rpm will actually improve the gas mileage!

2. Get a feel for the chassis: This is a little exercise that I call "the snake". If you find yourself on a wide straight road with little traffic you want to wiggle the bike from side to side. Keep your vision fixed straight ahead (this is very important!) then start with start with slooowly going from one side of the lane to the other side and back, then do it a little faster, a little faster again, and then a little faster again. Don't ever stop and straighten the bike out just keep on turning back and forth, back and forth.

You will find that to do it slowly you need not even turn the handlebars but merely think about it and you will move. But then the faster you wiggle from side to side the more force you will have to apply at the handlebars, and you are now counter-steering! If you do it really fast (only on good clean asphalt with warm tires) you will find that you are not moving your upper body at all but that your legs and the bike will swing beneath you. This technique of aggressive counter-steering is the fastest way to lean a bike over for a corner or to avoid an obstacle. It is profoundly useful!

3. Get a feel for the brakes: While on an empty road and traveling at the speed limit try getting a feel for the front break. You should squeeze with your knees and straighten your arms and back while at the same time squeeeeeezing the front brake. I recommend also pulling the clutch at the same time if you feel you can manage it. It should take maybe 0.5 second to go from no front brake to maximum front brake, this will allow time for the weight to transfer to the front wheel.

Start easy and then brake harder and harder, be prepared to release the brake if you feel that the front wheel locks up or the rear of the bike is coming up. During this exercise you don't need to use the rear brake at all, the rear brake is the good for small speed adjustments, works well at low speeds and on gravel and can also help stabilizing the bike in a corner. But the harder you need to brake the more front brake you need to dial in and the less rear brake you should use. Pro racers use the rear and front brake under maximum braking but for 99% of road riders it's safer to only rely on the front brake for emergency stops. This does however change a bit if you have a low slung cruiser, then you might have to use both brakes.... so essentially you need to practice braking with your motorcycle.

These three things will help you to more quickly grasp how a motorcycle goes, turns and stops....

[DAKEZ]

YES, Ride in a lower gear!!!

RIDE ASSERTIVE. Keep the RPM within the power band!!!

Always have the power at the ready so you can accelerate out of trouble without shifting down.

People that learn to ride in the dirt quickly learn that WAY more often than not it is better to add throttle (to control the inertia of the bike) than it is to slow down and brake. (fighting the inertia of the bike)

[DAKEZ]

Originally Posted by Blue&Yellow

Some more on how to get a feel for a bike more quickly:

2. Get a feel for the chassis: This is a little exercise that I call "the snake". If you find yourself on a wide straight road with little traffic you want to wiggle the bike from side to side. Keep your vision fixed straight ahead (this is very important!) then start with start with slooowly going from one side of the lane to the other side and back, then do it a little faster, a little faster again, and then a little faster again. Don't ever stop and straighten the bike out just keep on turning back and forth, back and forth.

You will find that to do it slowly you need not even turn the handlebars but merely think about it and you will move.( Please get in the habit of using positive input when you practice changing the trajectory of the bike. If you want to "merely think about it and it will move" go stare at a spoon)

But then the faster you wiggle from side to side the more force you will have to apply at the handlebars, and you are now counter-steering! If you do it really fast (only on good clean asphalt with warm tires) you will find that you are not moving your upper body at all but that your legs and the bike will swing beneath you. This technique of aggressive counter-steering is the fastest way to lean a bike over for a corner or to avoid an obstacle. It is profoundly useful!

Learning to weave is a good thing. It should also be incorporated into your daily riding to help the inattentive cage drivers take note of you presence.

Lateral motion works better than Lighting and Hi-Viz colors to make you visible to the Left Turning cages and the cages getting ready to pull out in front of you.

[DAKEZ]

Originally Posted by Blue&Yellow

3. Get a feel for the brakes: While on an empty road and traveling at the speed limit try getting a feel for the front brake. You should squeeze with your knees and straighten your arms and back while at the same time squeeeeeezing the front brake. I recommend also pulling the clutch at the same time if you feel you can manage it. It should take maybe 0.5 second to go from no front brake to maximum front brake, this will allow time for the weight to transfer to the front wheel.

Start easy and then brake harder and harder, be prepared to release the brake if you feel that the front wheel locks up or the rear of the bike is coming up. During this exercise you don't need to use the rear brake at all, the rear brake is the good for small speed adjustments, works well at low speeds and on gravel and can also help stabilizing the bike in a corner. But the harder you need to brake the more front brake you need to dial in and the less rear brake you should use. Pro racers use the rear and front brake under maximum braking but for 99% of road riders it's safer to only rely on the front brake for emergency stops. This does however change a bit if you have a low slung cruiser, then you might have to use both brakes.... so essentially you need to practice braking with your motorcycle.
....

While Blue&Yellow makes a valid point about the front brake being the go to brake for stopping a motorcycle. I would only suggest that there is a reason that Pro racers use both.


In the beginning it is easy to lock up the rear brake so much care should be taken. That said, you should not wait too long before beginning to practice with BOTH brakes.


If you know your bike and practice your braking (often) you will never find yourself doing what many call "panic braking". Instead you will instinctively pull off "Threshold Braking"


RIDE SAFE RIDE OFTEN

[xymotic]

Originally Posted by DAKEZ

[B]While Blue&Yellow makes a valid point about the front brake being the go to brake for stopping a motorcycle. I would only suggest that there is a reason that Pro racers use both.

I've read the statistic that 70% of braking power comes from the front and 30% from the rear.

So a few guys proclaim that the front is the more important one (true) and the only one that counts (not true)

30% of braking power is not nothing, it can make the difference between stopping and hitting a guardrail or other object. Learn to brake hard with both brakes.

[Blue&Yellow]

Originally Posted by DAKEZ

Does this sound contradictory? That is because it is contradictory!

I do not know but it would be my guess that Blue&Yellow learned to ride on the street and not on the dirt.

Ride in a lower gear!!!

RIDE ASSERTIVE. Keep the RPM within the power band!!!

Always have the power at the ready so you can accelerate out of trouble without shifting down.

People that learn to ride in the dirt quickly learn that WAY more often than not it is better to add throttle (to control the inertia of the bike) than it is to slow down and brake. (fighting the inertia of the bike)

I meant that new riders will often shift to the HIGHEST gear possible, keeping the rpm too low, my mistake...

About braking, well I myself use both brakes progressively and dependent on the situation, taking into consideration the available traction at each wheel. It's an instinctive thing that I don't even attempt to teach to beginners, I think it's safest for them to just get into the habit of using the front front brake for quick stops and then as their riding skill increases they will be in a better position to figure it out.

My extremely basic braking advice for beginners is:

Low speed = rear brake
Medium to high speed & medium braking = both brakes
Medium to high speed & hard braking = front brake

[DAKEZ]

Originally Posted by Blue&Yellow

I meant that new riders will often shift to the HIGHEST gear possible, keeping the rpm too low, my mistake...
My extremely basic braking advice for beginners is:

Low speed = rear brake
Medium to high speed & medium braking = both brakes
Medium to high speed & hard braking = front brake

I thought something was amiss. I will edit my post.