Good god almighty! How have I missed this for 26 years? {NA}

[vontresc]

Well here is a story for you all. The ONE time I didn't put on my helmet I laid the bike down. Scared the living crap out of me.

Just got done bleeding the brakes, and putting antisqueal on the back of the front pads, and needed to get gas at the station 1/2 mile from my house. Got there ok, but on the way back I am testing to see if the brakes stopped squealing. So I lay into the brakes, but this being a wet fall evening there are leaves all over the road. So I end up putting the bike down at maybe 5-10 mph (put a nice scrape on the head covers) not warding my helmet waring only a fleece jacket.

All ended up well, ecept that my ego tokk a major hit. I have never been on a bike since without the gear. Also on the plus side I did find out that I can pick up my bike if neccessary

Pete

 

[mantakos]

...There was a car beside him, so he couldn't swerve...

You can't ride a motorcycle the way you drive a car, just sort of blissfully rolling along, with the bar set at "stay in your lane, don't hit the guy in front of you, don't run any red lights".

In a motorcycle, it's not enough to ensure that _you_ don't cause any accidents, you are highly motivated to ensure that when somebody else does something that might cause an accident, that your actions prevent you from being involved in it. You have to worry not just about your own mistakes, but about the mistakes of every driver around you.

You have to aggressively ensure your continued survival. There is _always_ an out, you ensure this, you simply don't troll along next to some other car that can block your escape. Every car you see is just about to do something idiotic, you predict this idiotic action, do whatever it takes to be prepared for it (slow down, change lanes, identify and plan your reaction). If they don't do something idiotic, you are pleasantly surprised, and continue your scan for the next idiot.
-harry

 

[Bob Bement]

And to that I'll add...never, never, NEVER assume that the "other guy" is going to do what he's supposed to do! Always ride defensively!

Frank------ Great minds run in the same circles. Read my earlier post and then yours. It is still a great bit of wisdom. Bob

 

[Frank Browne]

Frank------ Great minds run in the same circles. Read my earlier post and then yours. It is still a great bit of wisdom. Bob

Driving a motorcycle...or a car for that matter...is not unlike flying in busy airspace around a non-towered field. Ya gotta keep your head on a swivel, and always watch for the un-announced, non-standard pattern entry.

 

[fgcason]

Driving a motorcycle...or a car for that matter...is not unlike flying in busy airspace around a non-towered field. Ya gotta keep your head on a swivel, and always watch for the un-announced, non-standard pattern entry.

Close comparison but not quite accurate. The conditional modifier is that the other traffic is being flown by angry terrorists trying to ram into you.


As for the riding along side a car comment. -500 safety points. They're called latchers. (They latch onto your visual image 5ft away and switch their brains off and let you drive for them. IOW, unmanned drone vehicle, no driver onboard) Just don't go there. If anyone puts themself into that position with you, move them somewhere that you can manage the risk. Always have an emergency exit tactic ready..especially when one isn't available.

You're not paranoid. They really are out to get you. But that doesn't mean you can't have fun though. You just have to behave like you do while flying.