My newest midlife crisis

[Neal]

I've been riding bikes since I was a kid, started off doing dirt bike racing. Then as soon as I turned 18 I got me a street bike and I've had them on and off since then, I'm 28 now. I can give you different tips and stuff depending on what you would like to know, maintenance wise or riding skill wise?

[rocknhorse76]

Congratulations! I've been riding motorcycles and atv's since I was a kid, and took to streetbikes in 1995 at age 21. Sold my last streetbike (the last of 9 I've owned lol) in 2006 and have been riding atv's exclusively since 2007. I'm hoping to get another streetbike in the near future, but I refuse to do so until I move away from Las Vegas. I had way too many close calls due to unattentive drivers in this town, which is what prompted me to sell the last bike. Best piece of advice I can give you is to watch out for minivans, girls on cell phones, and cars where all you can see is blue hair and knuckles above the dash lol.

[BFT12890]

Welcome to the bike world! I also started at the young age of 10 on dirtbikes, then at 20 I got the Harley in the pictures below. that was 3 years ago, still have the Harley and NEVER plan on getting rid of it.

As mentioned before me, a lot of good advice.
-try to keep away from other motorists, either get ahead from a light or fall back so you are kind of by yourself or "have a empty pocket"
-wear protective gear, the more the better
-watch other drivers like you would in a car, look for swerves, people who look lost, cell phone users ect.
-When on back roads stay towards the center of the road (granted no cars are coming and by center I mean closer to the yellow line) that way you can avoid fallen limbs, deer ect
-Avoid riding in the rain at all cost. it can be done, but its not safe at all. (im personally very scared of it)
-learn where pot holes/ seperations and rises in the asphalt are so you remember to avoid them.
-yes you can accelerate faster than a car, but if you have to pull infront of someone, if you wouldn't do it in a car, don't do it on a bike
-take parking lots slow and stay towards the center, so you can have more room to swerve away if someone is pulling out
-9 times out of 10, I love being towards the center of any road, because I like having more room to adjust either way
-When pulling in a parking spot, be observant of oil spots, most bikers park in the center of the parking spot, and most cars leak oil from the center of the engine, therefor if you don't pay attention your tire could sit in an oil leak and get very slick.
When stopped at a redlight (I personally, somebody else may have a counterargument to this) I personally like to be slightly closer to the car next to me (if im in the left lane I like to be closer to the right side of the lane and visa versa BECAUSE when most people realize they aren't going to stop in time, they like to swerve either into the median, or the shoulder, not towards the car next to them, so that way as a biker you get alittle more breathing room should a situation like that arise)

My baby...

[MarkS]

Thanks everyone. Some very good advice here. I took the MSF Rider course a few weeks ago and the one thing they stressed over and over was protective riding gear. I've been a lot more observant of other riders since then and noticing what they're wearing. The other day I saw a guy in a T-shirt, shorts, no helmet and sandals. Sandals... I couldn't believe it. During my course I was riding around and took a tight corner and I ended up dragging my heel a little bit. Kind of startling but it didn't hurt. My instructor told me that it's not an uncommon occurrence and is why you need to wear boots. I can't even imagine what it would have felt like in sandals.

[KMG]

This is kinda off topic.

I Just renewed my motorcycle insurance and though they have never asked before this year they asked if I had a motorcycle enforcement on my license. I have had one since I started riding but have never been asked about it and assumed they knew I did because I'm supposed to. As it turns out having the endorsement gets me a discount on my insurance. While I was happy I got a discount I was upset because that means I have been over paying for years.

If yall have never been asked about it you might check it out to see if you can save some money too.

[Skiploder]

Thanks everyone. Some very good advice here. I took the MSF Rider course a few weeks ago and the one thing they stressed over and over was protective riding gear. I've been a lot more observant of other riders since then and noticing what they're wearing. The other day I saw a guy in a T-shirt, shorts, no helmet and sandals. Sandals... I couldn't believe it. During my course I was riding around and took a tight corner and I ended up dragging my heel a little bit. Kind of startling but it didn't hurt. My instructor told me that it's not an uncommon occurrence and is why you need to wear boots. I can't even imagine what it would have felt like in sandals.

Mark, I used to ride my old Honda to high school in shorts with no helmet during the summer. Different times..............no distracted drivers and texting and cell phones.

In almost 30 years of riding, I've only gone down once (knock on wood).

Back before helmet laws and back before I was married, I used to live in Los Gatos. On Friday nights during the summer, I'd buzz down Highway 9 to Santa Cruz to meet some friends at Positively Front Street. I'd then bomb up Highway 1 to San Gregorio to Highway 84, Highway 84 to Highway 35 and Highway 35 back to Highway 9 (Bay Area folks will know this route). Most of the riding was done between 9 PM and midnight.

I used to love the smell of the ocean and the feel of the wind in my hair (I have no hair now) and my normal riding attire was those baggy army surplus cargo pants that I made into shorts, a tank top and Vans with no socks.

.......and no helmet.

One night, I pulled into a gas station in Davenport up the coast from Santa Cruz to get gas. It was not uncommon to have drifts of sand spread across the highway in windier weather. As I turned right back onto Highway 1 and accelerated I hit a thick layer of sand and went down.

I was probably only going 30 miles per hour and once I knew I couldn't keep the bike sunny side up I dismounted as best I could. The amount of road rash I got on my left leg and arm was amazing. I also scraped the beejezus out of my prized Bonneville.

I picked myself up and rode back home.

Up to that point, I never saw the bike as something that could hurt me. After that I saw it as something that could kill me.

I'd like to say I ATGATT it 100% - but I don't. There are still times when just the helmet goes on when I need to run to the store to grab something real quick.

[3skulls]

Somewhere along the Natchez Trace.
We hit 6 states that week and close to 2000 miles.


Good times

[Neal]

Thanks everyone. Some very good advice here. I took the MSF Rider course a few weeks ago and the one thing they stressed over and over was protective riding gear. I've been a lot more observant of other riders since then and noticing what they're wearing. The other day I saw a guy in a T-shirt, shorts, no helmet and sandals. Sandals... I couldn't believe it. During my course I was riding around and took a tight corner and I ended up dragging my heel a little bit. Kind of startling but it didn't hurt. My instructor told me that it's not an uncommon occurrence and is why you need to wear boots. I can't even imagine what it would have felt like in sandals.

As far as riding gear goes, here's it all sorta in a nutshell.

Armored Mesh is great because it's mesh so you get air flow so you stay cooler then you would in a leather jacket and the armored mesh jackets have armor where you would most likely need them should you fall off the bike or get thrown off(shoulders, elbows, hips(some, not all) and complete back. I wear this and one thing I will tell you from first hand experience is that you need to make sure that it's tight fitting around your elbows. I never wanted mine tight because it felt awkward and when a car pulled out in front of me and I tried to avoid and I ended up laying down my bike I hit elbow/knee first and because I didn't have the snap fitting things tightened how it should of been when my elbow hit, the armor in the elbow section rotated towards my forearm so I slid on with no protection on my elbow. I had regular jeans on as well, and they were ripped from my hip to my knee and where I hit with my elbow, I now have a nice scar that was to the bone. It's not exactly on my elbow but slightly towards my forearm but had I had the fitting where it should of been I wouldn't of had it at all. So this lesson is to always make sure your stuff fits you, it may seem a bit uncomfortable but you'll get used to it and it'll save your hide.

Leather Jackets are hot yes, but a true leather jacket offers one hell of a protection. I've watched people at the drag strip(requires full leather for racing) go down with full leather and get up with nothing more then a bruise. One accident I'll never forget is a guy on a Hayabusa laid it down doing around 120-130 and ended up doing tumbles. He got up and all he had was a quarter size bruise on his elbow. Leather definitely makes a difference and it protects you more then mesh.

As far as pants go, you can get stuff like double denim from motorcycle-superstore that provides good protection, but leather pants are the best bet, though I would never wear them even after being in my accident.

Then we have boots. Best Boots Ever. I've always used those and I've tried on many, many different ones and those by far are my favorite. They have a slip resistant sole which is good in case you ever have to stop at a red light and you put your foot down in a oil spot(it's happened to me). They have the little nobs on the toe to get better grip and they're also padded more right there so it's easier and less pressure on your toe. You cannot go wrong with those boots, plus it's leather.

[Neal]

Also, this was my last bike. I had everything to it add on wise except lowering it and stretching it(both of those hit you're cornering ability hard). This bike was seriously bad, I smoked quite a few Hayabusa, a lot of R1's, CBR's & GSX-R's.

[Rob]

@ the OP sweet wheels my man. Little advice always make sure the kickstand is down. Lol I have parked my bike and started to walk away thinking I'm cool and heard it fall over.......fail I have had everything from a little 600 to a busa to a road king.