Stayin' Alive.........
I have lifted this posting from another board and copied it
en toto. It was written by a friend and riding companion of mine from western NY state, after he watched a young, inexperienced rider die right in from of him a couple weeks ago up on 144 on the way to Renovo, Pa . Apparently, the rider froze up going into a sharp, decreasing radius turn; rather than lean the bike over more, he went straight off the road over an embankement and fell to his death.
I submit this to you unedited; the bold and emphasized areas are his. He has distilled the How-To's down to their essentials. He is a long-time rider (thirty-plus years), an accomplished racer and one of the senior engineers for Saab-USA. He currently flogs a BMW Boxer Cup on the track and on the street smoother and faster than I could ever dream and racks up 20-30,000 miles per year on the back roads.
I learn something from this guy all the time. Read it and live it. The life you save may be your own.
From PFFOG:
"I promised this a couple of weeks ago, sorry for the delay. I was thinking about this as I was on the ride to Renovo two weeks ago when the young man I met three hours earlier lost his life. He never got the chance to become experienced.
I needed to stand back and look at what might have happened, as it was the antithesis of what I was going to write.
I will keep it in bullet points, as it is easier to digest.
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Pre-flight the bike, pilots do it, why? Because a failure can be fatal, it is no different on the bike. Tire pressure, front and rear axel, pinch bolts, throttle and brake condition, foot peg mounts (how would you like to stand up to stretch at 55 and have the foot peg fall off), Fenders, shocks. I even give my tires a kick with the heel of my boot frequently when I stop, after lunch etc. There is a distinct sound difference on an under inflated tire.
-Preflight yourself. NEVER ride if you are preoccupied, angry, tired, extremely cold, bored, or have any type of intoxicant in your system. Expressway BORES me silly in about 20 minutes, so I bought a trailer to get to the fun and interesting roads. I did not like the stupor my brain went into after a few miles of ca-chunk, ca-chunk as I motored down the road. I can ride 600-mile days on narrow, twisting and interesting roads, I feel tired at the end of the day, but feel alert the entire time.
-Pay attention to the bike, if something feels different, it probably is. Stop and check (see preflight). Last year at Renovo, I went up the hill and turned at the overlook, we stopped for 5 minutes or so and I headed back down. I started slow and about the 3rd turn, the bike felt different, I stopped and checked the bike and sure enough the rear tire was loosing air rapidly. I did not make it back down without adding air. Same awareness in the car, I can tell I have a tire going soft just by the feel, long before it is tearing itself to shreds.
-Practice, Practice, Practice. The first place I take any new rider is to a back road and I give a braking demo. Front only, rear only and both. Then I make them do the same thing for 15-20 minutes before continuing. Even though I have had ABS for the last 6 years I still practice panic stops. I play “what is the latest I can apply the brakes and stop before” game. It goes like this; I will pick a landmark ahead, a pole, pavement marking sign etc. As I approach, I will wait until the last second I think I can apply the brakes and stop in the panic mode. It is an eye opener and commits some of this skill to muscle memory. I make my sons and wife practice this as well. Start at slower speed and then once comfortable speed it up.
-Read, Read, Read. Get you hands on magazines, books, surf the web. Read about techniques and strategies, then go practice them. One of my signature lines reads “Knowledge has to be improved, challenged, and increased constantly, or it vanishes”. This is so true, but easily forgotten.
-Ride like you are invisible, because to many you ARE. Even if people see you they do not feel threatened and would pull a move they would not it you were an 18-wheeler. The vast majority of people behind the steering wheel are passengers in the drivers seat, not drivers. My son use to drive an ambulance in Buffalo and he would constantly tell stories of drivers that did not see him, with all the lights flashing and siren wailing, what chance to you have on a motorcycle.
- Do you have close calls?? If so have you figured out what
YOU are doing wrong, even if it is not your fault? You were not anticipating what the other driver, road condition, wildlife, Mother Nature etc. might do. This applies to driving a car, walking, bumping your head and a multitude of other things. Are you constantly “Situationaly Aware” do you always know what is going on around you? If not, learn the skill. The best indicator of your skill is to ask yourself this question. Look in your rear view mirror, do you know where the guy behind you came from???? Did the slowly catch you, did they pull out of a side road or driveway, if so which one??? Strive to be Yoda!!!
-Scan constantly and play “what if”. What if the road turns to gravel over that hill? What if that car parked on the side of the road, pulled over to make a U-turn and they decide to do it NOW? What if that motorcycle coming the other way goes wide? Always have an escape route.
-Do you use riding as a way to feed an adrenaline rush?
If you feel you must always ride WFO to have fun, sell the bike. You can get an adrenalin rush safer ways, skiing, roller coasters, bungee jumping, snowmobiling (only safer than motorcycles if you avoid the bars). You can substitute some of the fun with a good car driven hard.
-Tell yourself LOOK WHERE YOU WANT TO GO. I have repeated this mantra to myself a million + times, and still do on a regular basis. It is FUNDAMENTAL to riding safely, and failure to do so is probably the #1 cause of accidents. In my opinion, thinking that you can stop if you are in a corner too fast is a guaranteed accident. There is no way you can stop. Now if you are still going straight and have a few seconds by all means scrub off a few MPH, then look where you WANT to go, release the brakes and head for the apex. My bet would be 99% chance you will make it, vs. 99% chance you will crash if you try to stop. Even if you feel you are 20mph to fast, about 2 seconds on the brakes will drop the speed and now you are going the speed you want, so just turn!!
-All the gear, all the time. Never leave home without it.
-Be aware of closing speeds. When I pass an Amish buggy I am usually going no more than 20 mph, same if I am passing a vehicle going 60, I get behind them, spend some time so they can see me, and I can observe them, then squirt around. I avoid passing multiple vehicles at once, and never pass on “the fly”, it is just too risky.
Now for more specific skills to improve you ability.
SMOOTH, SMOOTH, SMOOTH. So you want to be fast? The best way to get fast is not to try to be fast, but try to be smooth! Smooth adds confidence, concentration, and gray matter application to your riding.
Set up your turns. Look 1-2 turns ahead all the time, it is too late to do anything about the space 50 feet in front of you, you should have mentally passed that a long time ago. Coming out of one corner should position you for the entrance to the next.
Late apex. I wait until I can see the exit of the turn, if possible, before initiating a turn. If you find yourself going wide at the exit of a turn, chances are you are turning in too soon. Remember Look where you want to go and lock on it like a sidewinder missile.
If your chicken strips are less than ¼” wide, get to the track!!! Wait, if your chicken strips are more that ¼” wide, get to the track!!!! Just get to the track, Period, end of discussion. Best place for a novice to learn, and best place to let it all hang out. The more track days I do, the less I have the urge to push hard on the street.
Learn to read the road. There are multiple clues in any given corner. Are there skid marks? Is the guardrail dented? What are the clues that are visible going into a corner? At track days, I ride with some guys that race on a regular basis, but I find I am much faster in the 2nd or 3rd session than them, but by the end of the day they are faster then me. I can’t explain it except to say I analyze everything, after the first session at a new track, I play its layout over and over in my mind, and work on one corner at a time. Once that is committed to memory, I work on the next.
It is getting late, I am sure most have seen this before. But I will continue my thoughts another day, and comment on what not to do."
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Hot Weather Riding
It's 102 here in Baltimore right now, and not even I like to ride in this weather. But, some of you use your bikes as primary transportation, and HAVE to ride. With that in mind; I offer the following, based on my own experiences, research and the experiences of others before me.
Heat is not the enemy:
I know this sounds funny, but it's true. Heat is not the real problem when riding; loss of fluid is.
If you are healthy, your body is well-equipped to handle heat well up into the 120 degree range.
http://www.whybike.com/motorcycle85.htm
Dressing properly is very important. A T-shirt and shorts are not it; exposed skin is not only dangerous in a crash, it’s a major source of dehydration and sunburn. The desert dwellers learned that covering all exposed skin reduced dehydration. In high heat and humidity, even Kevlar mesh garments are a poor choice.
When you are riding in hot weather, you are in a 60 mile-per-hour convection oven; the wind carrying away both the heat and your sweat. Many riders use the old biker’s trick of soaking the body of a heavy cotton sweatshirt in water, leaving as much water in the shirt as possible and wearing it under a riding jacket. The sleeves are left dry from the elbows down, as well as from the waist down, to allow for moisture wicking down. The wet shirt becomes an evaporative cooler that leaves the rider in blissful comfort for at least an hour. Opening or closing the front (and side zippers, if so equipped) controls the amout of evaporative cooling; which can be in the 20-30 degree range on an unfaired bike.
Start the ride well-hydrated, drinking at least a quart of liquid before departure. Drink at least a quart of liquid such as water or sports drinks every hour.
If the temperature or heat index is very high, double or triple it, since fluid loss can top a gallon an hour. Riders who do not need to make a pit stop every couple of hours are dehydrating and should sharply increase their fluid intake. If you are not peeing it means there is not enough fluid in your system and your kidneys have gone on strike....and heatstroke and death are not far away.
After graduating many years ago, I became an apprentice cook in a hotel. As part of my training, I worked many hours in the restaurant kitchens, "on the line"; on the cooking battery, with open broilers, fryers, hot-top stoves (cast iron stoves with 10 sixty-thousand BTU burners, 10 foot open bain-maries (steamtables) and 100 gallon steam jacketed kettles. The thermometer on the wall frequently read in the 120 degree range, with temps next to equipment in the 140-150 range. Stand next to some equipment long enough, and the hair on your arms would start to melt (true!!! those of you in the food business know what I'm talkin' about.)
We dressed in highly starched heavy cotton double breasted cooks jackets buttoned to the neck; highly starched heavy cotton pants, a double-starched DOUBLE cotton apron, and a starched cotton chef's hat.
All that starch in the cotton prevented sweat from soaking in...the many layers of heavy cotton acting as an insulator from the extreme heat. It was possible to work eight, ten or twelve hour shifts that way in relative comfort and safety.
Soooooo.....
The key to riding safely in hot weather is to stay hydrated and INSULATE yourself from the heat, and CONTROL your waterloss through "wetting down" inside garments and
controlling airflow. Done right, it can be nearly as comfortable as an airconditioner.
Ride safe.