Do's and Don'ts on your motorcycle
How to save yourself a lot of trouble and strife
Lucy England
There are a few sensible measures you can take when riding a motorcycle which might keep you safer and are easy to do and helpful - here are a few of our suggestions - what are yours?
1 Disc-O Fever
Always lock your bike up properly but don’t use a disc lock without a visible reminder, or you might end up ruining your brakes or calipers and possibly hurting yourself, depending on how fast you decided to pull away if you forget to unlock it. Do use a reminder that's brightly coloured, usually fluorescent cord, with a loop at each end which you loop round the lock and round your handlebars as a visual cue to remind you not to just hop on your bike and zoom off. You wouldn’t get very far with your disc lock, or your reminder, still on.
2 Cover Story
Don’t leave your bike parked up anywhere without the appropriate, perhaps even heavy handed, security measures. A really determined thief or gang could find a way to get your bike anyway, but the chances are that if it is locked up with heavy duty chains or ground anchors it will be safer. If it’s overnight, or at home, we recommend a cover as well so that no one can see what is underneath and get tempted. Chances are thieves will opt for nicking a machine which they can see and which is not securely padlocked as it’s easier. The steering lock can be snapped in a matter of seconds by an experienced bike thief, so if you are relying on this then you may be saying goodbye to your bike sooner than you think.
3 Stop On A Dime
Don’t brake suddenly, particularly when cornering, unless it’s essential. If you change your mind mid corner and decide that you are going too fast, your instinct can be to grab the front brake to slow down a bit but this can have disastrous consequences. Doing this can make your turn increase or cause your brakes to lock up which can make you lose control.
4 Slow Down You Move Too Fast
Don’t try to keep up with your pals if they are driving faster than you normally would, or feel comfortable doing. They may have a different style of riding or be prepared to take too many risks.
5 Bone Head
Don’t allow yourself to get involved in road rage. There are plenty of car drivers who will happily move over to let a filtering motorcycle pass or pull in in front of them, but there are others who really get annoyed. These are the ones who will block your way, drive in the centre of the road and refuse to let you in if you are filtering. Ignorant, obviously, as your filtering means that all the traffic moves faster which benefits everyone. So if some bone headed driver is blocking you, just ignore them and pull in behind calmly waiting until you can cruise past them when a clear opportunity arises.
6 Invisible Man
Don’t automatically think that other road users have seen you. The best way to ride is as though everyone else on the road is wearing blinkers and you are wearing an invisibility cloak. If you always ride wisely like this then you can usually identify hazardous situations before they arise and protect yourself from the fact that most car drivers will probably not have spotted you.
7 Aqua Scoot Um
Grandmother to suck eggs, but don’t go out riding without the appropriate gear. Warm, motorcycle-specific clothing and wet weathers in winter. Cool clothes, water and sunscreen in summer. Getting too cold or too hot or soaking wet can affect your ability to think and to perform safely.
8 Breaking Distance
Don’t ride when you’re tired, take frequent breaks. If you start to feel tired stop for a rest straight away, re-hydrate and have a coffee and a snack to raise your blood sugar. There is little margin for error on a motorcycle and a lapse in concentration could spell disaster.
Look after yourself and don’t take unnecessary risks.
9 Bad Mood Bear
Linked to the point before – don’t ride your bike if you can help it if you're in a bad mood. If you are angry or upset, or even stressed out, then it is a good idea not to ride you bike, choose an alternative method of transport like a train or bus where someone else will be taking the strain. Anger could lead to poor decisions on the road and could detrimentally affect your judgement – just saying...
10 Stay Frosty
Don't relax completely when you turn into your own road at the end of your journey. If you take your eye off the ball too quickly you can come a cropper at the eleventh hour. Stay frosty right up until you reach your front door.
Any tips – ours seem to be mainly Don'ts – what are your Dos? Or any Don'ts we've forgotten?
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