2Wheeltips

As a fellow rider, if I asked you what you would consider your first line of defense against hazards, how would you answer? In my mind, without a doubt, it’s our vision. Seeing things gives us the opportunity to react, slow down, swerve or even speed up. In other words, take the necessary “avoidance” measures appropriate. So, if we don’t see something that poses a potential risk we are especially vulnerable as we loose that ability to react.

Surprises while riding are really, really bad as I’m sure you are all well aware. I would like to devote the next several articles to this very important topic. I thought I’d write them in a particular order with the first article providing examples of the kind of stuff you need to pay attention to, next the type of drivers you need be avoiding and lastly what expert riders/authors recommend to improve your ability to see all this stuff and focus on what’s important and ignore the “small stuff”.

One of my favorite authors and story tellers, Tom Bodet, wrote a few books on his living in Homer, Alaska (As far as You can Go Without a Passport and The End of the Road) You might remember Tom as he did the "Motel 6" commercials ‘We’ll leave a light on for’ya.”.  Anyway, he tells a story where he classifies people into two categories; people that notice stuff and people that don’t. Pretty simple concept right? Well, I definitely fall into the classification of people who notice stuff and let me tell you about some of the stuff I notice when driving and riding the highways and byways here in the Heartland.

I notice stuff on the sides of the road. You might notice that stuff too but did you think it probably didn’t start out on the side of the road. It’s not likely that Sanford & Son is making stops along our expressways neatly depositing things they couldn’t sell at the junkyard. No, that stuff falls off cars, trucks, and trailers and lands in the road and, then, eventually makes its way to the berm or median. Here is a list of stuff I’ve seen in the last few months on the sides of the roads I travel:

• dresser drawers with contents
• luggage with contents
• coolers
• mattress and box spring
• bicycle (women’s blue 10 speed)
• fire hydrant (believe it!! can you imagine hitting a fire hydrant going 70mph?)
• endless number of truck tire casings (I hit a small piece of one of these several weeks ago and it knocked the riveted right rear mud guard off my Camry)
• fire wood
• lawn mower
• lawn chairs
• mufflers, and the list goes on and on

We were coming back from a July 4th trip to Cincinnati and there was one of those small inexpensive trailers with the metal screen bed and it had a piece of plywood for each of the 2 sides. We were two cars behind it when one of the plywood sides blew off and landed in the fast lane just to our left and slid for awhile before sliding off into the median. It didn’t slide flat on the ground; it was angled about 45 degrees, so if you hit it on a bike it would have flipped towards you totally obscuring your vision and probably causing you to crash.

The point I hope I’m making is that riding in the vicinity of vehicles carrying stuff is ill advised

• Over packed and unsafely packed dinky trailers
• RV’s with junk tied on the back with bungee cords (I’ll talk more about bungee cords later!!)
• Anything with a mattress on top stay away from, it’s a severe hazard.

A friend of my wife was killed this year in Cedar Rapids while riding a motorcycle and a mattress blew off the top of a car.  It hit him, causing him to crash, and he was run over by another car.

Here’s my bullet point list of vehicles not to be around:

• RVs with stuff insecurely tied on the top or back
• Open-top trailers flled with junk that is not properly tied down or covered.
• Construction vehicles of any type, including those on flat bed trailers where rocks and dirt clogs get jarred loose by bumps, and fall off, and especially
• dump trucks hauling gravel (the ones with the big sign "Don't Follow Me Into the Worksite"...yeah...I won't follow you at all, thanks very much!)
• Junker cars that are poorly maintained, where parts might fall off.
• 4-wheel drive trucks and Jeeps with off-roading tires that are really good at throwing rocks (I've lost 2 windshields on my car following these types of vehicles, and I try very hard not to follow them...if I have no choice, I leave a football field of distance between them and me)
• Anything that is carrying a heavy object held down by bungee cords.  Bungee cords are designed to hold light objects in place.  They are not designed to hold heavy items like tool boxes, kayaks, ladders, etc.  Heavy objects require nylon straps, preferably ratcheting straps, chains or other robust methods to secure the load.

I’m sure this jogs many of your memories on junk you’ve passed or stuff you’ve seen fall off vehicles. That’s my objective here, to jog your memories so you think about what you are following and or riding next to and. if it fits any of the above criteria, the “light bulb” should go on and you need to find another lane position, pass it quickly or fall way back. Ride safe, and remember Tom will keep that light on for’ya at your favorite Motel 6.

Right hand on the throttle
Right foot on the brake
Drinking before riding is a big mistake

Cruisin down the freeway, felling really fine
Is it the booze or am I sychronized?

Think I'm riding savy, don't know if that's true
Only had two close calls, well that's mighty few

Not sure of my limits, am I over my head?
Hope to make it home tonight alive not dead

Right hand on the throttle
Right foot on the brake
Drinking before riding is a big mistake

Don't know my limits my perceptions are a blur
am I even riding safe, well I'm not sure

I think it's time to park it, time to call a cab
If  I keep on riding well, the outcomes bad

Booze and bikes are great when off the road and parked
Once you get to riding then sobers really smart
If your riding home tonight then sobers really smart!

“A Man's Got to Know His Limitations”

(Clint Eastwood/Dirty Harry, Magnum Force 1973)

 Lately I’ve been looking on line at some of the videos on motorcycle crashes. You can do a “google search” and find several web sites (www.motorcyclecrashes.net) that have some really disturbing stuff, which is what prompted me to select this topic to write about. I think the quote from the movie Magnum Force is very appropriate because it seems to be human nature, particularly with the “high testosterone manly macho types”, that they are far more skilled and invincible than how truth would have it. It’s not just an error in judgment I’m referring to, but a belief, due to ignorance, ego inflation or having no realistic reference point to measure from, that their skill level is much greater than it actually is. Alcohol definitely enhances this state-of-mind so it only adds fuel to the proverbial fire!! How else can you explain a rider with a passenger who is dressed in tank top, shorts and flip flops from doing a wheelie on a sport bike, losing control of the bike and putting her on the tarmac? This is an extreme example but let’s talk about some examples of lesser but equally problematic situations where riders get in way over their heads.

I have read several recent article where riders purchase bikes in locations that are far away, fly there to pick them up and ride them home. Some large dealerships even promote this idea with “fly and ride” specials. This can be an exciting adventure but the rider is not going to be familiar with this new/used bike and riding it for the first time in an area that is strange to them. They have not taken the time to ride the new bike in a more controlled and familiar environment to take the time to acclimated to it and or find out if everything works OK (other than a parking lot shakedown) and or get proficient with the controls. Net result is the ride turns into a nightmare with breakdowns and crashes due to either maintenance problems with the bike or controls working  differently (brakes/clutch/throttle) than what the rider was expecting. Here is a classic example of not understanding the limitations and condition of a new bike and not allowing yourself time to adjust to them.

Speed is another area that is repeatedly talked about and well documented. The single biggest reason for motorcycle crashes where no other vehicle is involved is excessive speed going into corners. I’m not going to spend a lot of time on this as it is talked about over and over again. Being able to ride fast on a well known road you are very familiar with is one thing. To do it on a road you’ve never ridden before is extremely ill advised. I did a 300 mile ride this weekend on roads I had not ridden before. I ride the speed limit and well within my skill level but at some of the intersections and curves I encountered gravel from the berm that had been dragged on the road by tractor trailers and was all over the corners and intersections. I had to slow down to parking lot speeds to make some of these turns it was so bad.  So traveling high speed going into unknown conditions on unfamiliar roads regardless of what you think your skill level is can present unwelcome surprises.

About 2 years ago I had just upgraded the stock seat on my cruiser for me and my wife’s added comfort. We purchased some pricey gel pads to boot. We normally rode in the 150 mile range and with the new seat and pads could do so with no aches or pains. Well, I had the bright idea of doing a Saturday trip of just a tad over 300 miles to evaluate how far we could ride to determine if we could do longer weekend trips. That idea wouldn’t have turned out quite so bad if I’d left my wife at home and just let myself be the “guinea pig”. The ride out was fine and we stopped and had lunch about 160 miles out. The ride home was a disaster!! I started getting sore about an hour into the ride home and so did my wife. It just got worse and worse until the time we finally made it back. I was almost afraid to take my helmet off as I though she was going to punch me, and rightly so!! It was a stupid experiment where I did not understand the limitations of the bike regarding comfort based on ride time and or number of miles. Rather than having a great riding day it became a torture test and ended in a big fight. It turned out to be a memorable experience alright but for all the wrong reasons. Certainly this was not a life threatening situation but still makes my point that not knowing your limitations, and that of your bike, causes unnecessary stress and can severely diminish, if not out-right ruin the positive experience we expect from this sport.

The other point I want to touch on is how weather can seriously impact your abilities requiring you to adjust your level of limitations, usually downward. Severe hot or cold temperatures can significantly reduce your comfort level and mental alertness. Ride time, range and intervals between breaks need to be adjusted accordingly. Rain and wet roads reduce traction requiring reduced speed and increase ride time. Fog reduces visibility and causes you to strain to see ahead which accelerates mental fatigue. We have a lot of wind in Iowa even through the summer months. If you are going to ride here you have to be able to ride in 20mph – 30mph wind or your bike will get way more garage time than road time. When it gets much over 30mph I head home and park the bike. I did that twice this year because it’s so hard to judge the wind in the city limits with buildings all around. Once you get out into the open country what you thought might be a tolerable wind day many times is not. The physical demand of riding a bike in sustained winds over 20mph is far greater than in low or no wind situations. I tire much more quickly and will cut my ride time by half if not more.

Well, that wraps up this article. I hope it gave you some things to ponder and will keep you focused on what your true limitations are and how not to exceed them. Just remember “Clint’s” words of wisdom.

With great summer riding comes the less enjoyable task of cleaning all the bug guts off your windshield and front of your bike. Here in Iowa it's particularly bad this year due to all the rain we've experienced. I can't stand to look at/through that mess on my windshield so I end up cleaning it off after every ride.

I found that by soaking an old bath towel in water than drapping it over the windshield and front of my bike/headlight makes the job so easy and saves a ton of time. Press on the wet towel so it's stuck to the entire windshield. You might need a second towel to do the front of your bike depending on how your bike is configured or do the windshield first then use the same towel to do the front.  Let the wet towel sit about 20 minutes then just take that damp towel and wipe off the windshield and front. It only takes about 30 seconds or less to get all the gunk off with no rubbing or scrubbing. It really works great and it eliminates using sprays and cleaners that can sometimes harm your windshield or cause scratches. I then just go over it lightly with a cleaner designed for my polycarbonate windshield and I'm done in less than 2 minutes.

At sometime in your life you’ve probably have had some fire safety training.  Do you recall the combustion triangle?  A big triangle with a fire in the center and fuel, heat, and oxygen making up the three sides – do you remember now?  Good, then you’ll also remember if you remove any one of the three sides of the triangle (fuel, heat, oxygen), the fire goes out; it dies. 

Well, I look at my life as a motorcyclist just like that fire.  I need three components to keep me alive and well while riding:

            Attitude – A positive attitude toward safety.           

            Knowledge – Knowing what can hurt me or worse! 

            Proficiency – The skill and ability to competently operate the motorcycle. 

By being accomplished at all three of the above, you significantly improve your chances of leading a long and prosperous life, and reduce risk.  By doing otherwise, you put yourself at a tremendous disadvantage, increase risk, and chance snuffing out your “fire,” i.e. your life.

The articles I intend to write for 2Wheeltips will support this concept, so I thought it important to lay out how all of this fits together right upfront:

“Attitude,” meaning you embrace and believe that following safe practices like “wearing all the gear all the time” doing a pre-ride checklist, and avoiding alcohol before and during a ride are examples of smart things to do.

“Knowledge,” meaning you have taken a sanctioned safe riding course, and you have supplemented that with reading books and/or watching videos to increase your knowledge of the “do’s and don’ts” of motorcycling.  Most of us have quickly learned that a motorcycle is not a car minus two wheels. It is an entirely different animal and has a completely different set of behaviors and operational requirements.

“Proficiency,” meaning you have taken the time to learn to operate the bike and can ride competently.  You are able to use the friction zone and coordinate clutch and throttle.  You can select between which combination of front/rear brakes based on situations and conditions to obtain the right result.  You understand how to counter-steer and can choose the correct lean angle based on speed and what type of corner you are engaging.  You continue to practice to improve weak areas and learn new skills.

From my point of view, “Attitude” is truly the foundation for everything else.  If you don’t believe wearing a helmet is important, having a few beers before or during a ride can’t hurt anything, or never bothered to learn slow speed maneuvers, etc., I guess you might as well stop reading now because you’re really wasting your time.

I recently wrote blogs on “100% responsibility” and an unforgettable safety video called, “Remember Charlie.”  The message is, “it’s all about attitude!”  Your attitude will ultimately determine if cycling will be a consistently positive experience in your life or a tragedy.  You must believe that accidents are preventable.  You must believe that you and you alone are responsible for your safety.  Seriously, who the hell else cares if you come home in one piece and can actually do something to help you with that?  Not your loved ones sitting home dutifully waiting for your return, not your doctor or the mortician (they are there for after-the-fact support depending on the severity of the incident), not the “cagers” in their SUVs playing with their cell phones, and not the police who are more worried about how loud your pipes are than if you’re even wearing a helmet.

My friends, it’s only you and what you can do to make yourself the safest, smartest, most skilled rider you can be.  You can control your attitude; you can control your knowledge; and you can control your proficiency.  You can choose to ride sober, defensively, and skillfully.  This is one time it is truly all about you!!

This is my message, my heartfelt belief, and I am passionate about it.  It makes perfect sense to me and I hope it makes sense to you.

PS- Now you know why this column is called “Reggie’s Rants”.

 

Hi, I'm Reggie and I was invited by the hosts of this marvelous web site to write some articles on motorcycle safety. I have been actively participating on the 2Wheeltips site a couple years now and have become more and more active writing blogs on motorcycle safety related subjects. I felt it was important to contribute to the topic of safety this website is dedicated to and give something back for how much it has benefited me.

I'm in my 50's and have been riding for almost 6 years now. I rode when I was in my late teens and early 20's but mostly off-road. I gave up riding when career, family and time constraints pushed it off the priority list. When I made a job change in 2005 and moved from the Carolina coast, where I was big into boating, to the middle of Iowa, I had to find a new pastime as boating in Iowa (after doing the Intra-coastal waterway and Atlantic) was a "non-event"!!

Well, the boat got sold and the proceeds went to buy a Kawasaki 1600 which I rode for about 4 years before trading up to a Honda GoldWing that I bought at the end of 2009. My wife and I are taking longer and longer trips necessitating more carrying capacity and comfort than a crusier can afford.

Motorcycling has now become a passion for me, and I have always been passionate about safety, which is why I'm so excited about writing these articles for 2Wheeltips. I am not a professional writer but can certainly get my points across. I am not a safety expert but have had over 25 years of safety training in the manufacturing industry and been responsible for the safety and welfare of the several facilties I have managed over that span of time. I am not an expert motorcyclist but aspire to become one. I am very much like most of you that have been severely bitten by the "motorcycling bug" and simply can't get enough of it. I want to learn as much as I can about motorcycling, how to do it safely and mitigate risks, with the objective of getting maximum enjoyment from the sport.

The articles that I write will focus primarily on three areas:
Attitude, Knowledge and Proficiency

I will try to discuss areas that are not already thoroughly covered on this website and beyond the basic safety information you should have learned to get your license and hopefully, are religiously following. I will provide references to many of the books I have read that give insightful and valuable information on enhancing riding skills and techniques that will help you become a more proficient and astute rider. I will, also, share with you things I've seen, mistakes I've made and what I would have done differently over the past 5 years as I re-entered this wonderful sport.

I hope you will find my articles to be useful and thought provoking. I would sincerely appreciate your feedback and comments both positive and negative so I can adjust accordingly and give you the maximum value for the time you take to read my articles.