Helpful Rider Hints and Tips

[Simon S]

When riding in groups, always allow enough space between you and the next rider by staggering your position to the rider in front.
Always keep your eyes on the furthist point of the road for safety. This will allow you time to set up for the bends and see hazards early.
Use ALL of the road when it is safe and legal too. Positioning yourself to the left of the road in right hand bends will allow you to see the exit point earler that any other position. Position yourself on the crown of the road for left handers but watch for oncoming traffic.
Read the road conditions.
Learn to tell the signs of oil and diesel spillages on the road.
On wither days look out for puddles and damp area's under trees ,where the weak sunshine has not dried the roads.
All in all ride safely and enjoy yourself ,biking is fun but dangerous too.

[the pc doctor]

OK, today's thoughts are:

Right about the cow but we call it 'fridge theory'. Just out of sight, around the bend is a fridge. It ain't moving so you have to be able stop before you hit it. ............
Grim

I now think of this as the bed theory

Last week on the way home came accross a bed in the middle of the M1. Wondered why all the traffic in front was swerving like crazy so decided to follow even before seeing the bed....... Glad I did - even a bed at speed is as hard as a fridge..

Didn't have time to check to see if it was a slumberland though!!

[cbx1000]

hey guys
come over to Ireland for a run and see the roads here

If you can make it around the ring of kerry without dropping it, hitting a or losing a few ribs pushed into your belly from the hidden dips crags and craters that that we call roads over here then you can go home saying ok now i can drive a bird anywhere safely

[ScaredWitless]

Best thing I ever did was spend a couple of days doing advanced riding with the law. Taught me loads and realised it wasnt all about speeeeeed!
Now I am looking as far ahead as possible and use my gearbox much more. They are great guys(really!!) and can teach you a lot. :mrgreen[/quote]

[TESLACOIL]

reading all this makes me want hang up my boots

Riding a bike is the dumbest activity you can do on a daily basis

So i keep my bike riding to a minimum and take risks in short bursts

the down side is im always out of practice and on an unfamiliar machine
but i guess being a little wary keeps me out of trouble

Since i passed my test 8 years ago ive never had a crash or a dodgy moment that went out of control

I think the people who are at most risk are risktakers who have been lucky so far...like the two sports riders blasting past slowmoving traffic

and those who stack up the miles

every activity has a LD50 ( lethal dose in which half the subjects die)

i like to use the HD50 ( half the subjects suffer consequences that would make them redo their lives if they had a choice)

my guess for motorcyles is 100k miles before HD50 is reached...thats not good odds even for 10k miles if you are risk averse

there are lots of activites more dangerous than biking but few are carried as often in a persons life as biking


as i get older should i take more risks as i have less to lose anyway or should i take less risks to ensure what i have left.....thats a tough call too

[Duck n Dive]

hey guys
come over to Ireland for a run and see the roads here

If you can make it around the ring of kerry without dropping it, hitting a or losing a few ribs pushed into your belly from the hidden dips crags and craters that that we call roads over here then you can go home saying ok now i can drive a bird anywhere safely

Always remember following a car around some bendy bits there .. old dear driving apparently couldn't deal with turning the wheel enough for the bend ...... so just gently drifted up the grass bank part way round....




It made me laugh

[Duck n Dive]

hey guys
come over to Ireland for a run and see the roads here

If you can make it around the ring of kerry without dropping it, hitting a or losing a few ribs pushed into your belly from the hidden dips crags and craters that that we call roads over here then you can go home saying ok now i can drive a bird anywhere safely

Always remember following a car around some bendy bits there .. old dear driving apparently couldn't deal with turning the wheel enough for the bend ...... so just gently drifted up the grass bank part way round....




It made me laugh

[Duck n Dive]

If you can make it around the ring of kerry without dropping it, hitting a or losing a few ribs pushed into your belly from the hidden dips crags and craters that that we call roads over here then you can go home saying ok now i can drive a bird anywhere safely

Always remember following a car around some bendy bits there .. old dear driving apparently couldn't deal with turning the wheel enough for the bend ...... so just gently drifted up the grass bank part way round....




It made me laugh

[gibbsc]

you can never allow for the unexpected though - travelling up from Tintern going around a bend and a pick up was on the other side of the road carrying quik-form scaffolding - as he turned the bend it spun off the back of the van, i ducked and it landed on the road behind me - close shave just thanking my lucky stars i was a second quicker on the straight before the bend!!!!!!

[Keith Inglis]

Well reading the Grim Reapers post,
it does not always work,
I remember many years ago riding an AJS CSR round an S bend with a pub on my left and a car park on the right, I was doing about 30 as it had been raining and gravel had washed in to the road, there were two children a boy and a girl of about 10 perhaps 12 on my left waiting to cross over to the car park, I used the horn and moved to the center of the road, the boy decided to make a run for it, I used the horn again and moved to the other side of the road and shouted at him and braked hard as I could, but he did not stop, I hit him quite hard with the front forks which to my surprise through him in the air, it turned out he had broken his coller bone.
The parents were in the car park, Dad come over and said to me you could not of done any more than you did, which I thought was very understanding, but he was a biker as well which most people were or had been in those days.

I went to see the lad in Hospital a couple of time to see if he was ok, he made a full recovery, but it just goes to show sometimes there is nothing you can do to avoid some things taking place.