What's the one piece of advice...?

[ROBsS4R]

The two things that have really saved my Arse in the last 30k miles or so are...

Pratice your swerving... I had to use this several times with nasty road debree and or cars cutting you off.

Also always have a nice cushion between you and the cars in front and to the left and side of you. Ride in a Staggered formation always so in case a car cuts you off you have time to react. When I pass a Car I always hang to the opposite of the lane the car is in just Incase he/she trys to change lanes during the pass which has also happend to me.

[monster2b]

Crashes are going to happen always wear your gear. 

[Statler]

Yeah...that reminds me of sooooo much stuff I just take for granted now....

never ride directly in back of a semi.

never ride right next to any vehicle..stagger...which usually means riding slightly faster than traffic to be aggressively defensive.

don't stop in the middle of the lane where all the oil drips at lights, stopsigns, tolls, etc.   and watch your right foot on those same slippery areas.

heavy rain is better than light misting which just brings up all the oils...riding in heavy fog was some of the slipperiest riding I've ever done.

paint, manhole covers, and some patchwork is slick, but they are good for practicing avoidance....if you look at them you go over them...if you look where you want to go around them you don't.

slip your clutch, keep your throttle up, and drag your rear brake/slip clutch more for smooth turns from a stop to ensure correct lane placement instead of either running wide or chopping the throttle and jerking.

don't look at the ground when turning sharp slow corners...look up allways.

damn....so many more...and I don't remember 20 years ago what is in the basic msf course.

[DucHead]

Look where you want to go.

IE, opposite of target fixation...

+1

[corndog67]

1.  Ride dirt bikes.  I've been riding them for 37 years, and nothing that happens on the road surprises me, or freaks me out. 

2.  If you aren't focused, you aren't riding well.   If you don't feel that your attention is up to par on a certain day, park it. 

3.  Ride every day.  Practice, practice, practice.  Ride in the rain.  Ride when it's cold.  Ride when it's hot.  Get a lot of seat time and wear out bikes.  You can always buy another. 

4.  Don't drink and ride.  Don't ride with people that are drinking.  I know some of the Harley crowd, and they go bar hopping, ride, drink, ride, drink, ride, drink and so on.   Not too smart really.   I won't ride with anyone that even has 1 beer.  I don't need some dumbass running into me because he only had 1 or 2 beers.  If you're drinking, I'm outta there.  I know a lot of alcoholics that think they can handle 1 or 2 beers and ride well, but have fun by yourself, because I'm not bailing your ass out of jail, or getting your bike out of impound if you get arrested  for it.   

5.  Personally, I ride very aggressively.  I don't mean 137 mph (that's how fast an S4 is supposed to be able to go, according to the thread) everywhere I go, I attack the road.   Elbows up, head down, I don't let cars get close enough to spear me, I don't ride near cars or trucks, if I'm going by, I do it as fast as possible so they can't hit me even if they try, what I mean by that is I spend a minimum amount of time near them, I don't go by at 125 or anything, I make my move so I'm in the clear as quickly as I can.   Any time I'm riding, I consider it practice.   Paying attention to the bike, how it's working, if the tires are slipping around, is it running right, I think it boils down to #2, focus.    I never just putt around looking at the little birdies.    But, that's just me, do what you feel comfortable doing. 

6.  Don't ride with idiots. 

7.  Ride with people that ride better than you do.   Get some tips, and watch them.

8.  Go to a riding/racing school.  Not necessarily a track day, although those are fun, too, but something like Keith Code, or Freddie Spencer, but I think they just shut down. 

There are a lot of good tips out there.  Oh yeah, I almost forgot.  Don't put fringe on your levers. 

[junior varsity]

Don't be so excited to get off your bike at the bar or in the garage for whatever reason that you are so cool you hop off, and forget to put the sidestand down. Seen that before. [shakes head in disgust]

Cleaning your bike is the best way to see something wearing that's not supposed to. That either means quit cleaning so you don't know something is about to break and you get an exciting surprise, or its a great way to do less expensive maintenance, rather than more expensive repair. I think the pre-ride inspection is "ok", but really getting to know the machine is better.

It is never too hot to wear a good protective jacket. Its really not. 100 degree Memphis days with >100% humidity and it still wasn't too hot. 110+ degree Dallas days. Still not too hot.

The bike that's for sale that says "NEVER DROPPED, ADULT RIDDEN" is actually neither. Sure there may have been an adult in the saddle, but that's now how he rode it, and it most certainly has been dropped, even if just in the garage.

Good gloves make a pretty big difference in comfort. Proper fitting gloves make a pretty big difference in comfort. Combine the two and happy hands will equal a happy rider.

Since you are more likely-than-not going to crash, and upon doing so, land on your face with your palms out to brace yourself, its a good idea to have both of those places protected (face and palms). Have rosy palms for another reason, not roadrash. And an open face helmet is asking for a future nose job and jaw replacement.

[That Nice Guy Beck!]

dress nice look good

[gregrnel]

Only one piece of advice?.....Motorcyclist mag's number 11

11. Left-turning cars remain a leading killer of motorcyclists
Don't assume someone will wait for you to dart through the intersection. They're trying to beat the light, too.

[junior varsity]

Oh, another:

Never trust a green light. Don't gas it through the intersection the minute the light changes or proceed blissfully through an intersection just because you have a green light. Sure you had the right away, but you might also get run over.

[Popeye the Sailor]

'You. Are. Invisible."


They need to understand that. No one told me.

[MadDuck]

Look where you want to go.

IE, opposite of target fixation...

+1 

I believe that this one skill should be practiced until it's more than a habit. The faster I ride the more it applies. Even split second distractions from where you want the bike to go change your direction, big time.

[MadDuck]

The bike that's for sale that says "NEVER DROPPED, ADULT RIDDEN" is actually neither. Sure there may have been an adult in the saddle, but that's now how he rode it, and it most certainly has been dropped, even if just in the garage.

I beg to differ.  While I agree that most bikes advertised as such may stretch those claims a bit such bikes do exist. My very own Gixxer 750 is such an example. It has never seen the ground except for the bottom of the kickstand and while it hasn't been babied it hasn't been abused either. Whoever buys mine will get a primo machine.

[Big Troubled Bear]

Be observant, they are out to kill you

[junior varsity]

I beg to differ.  While I agree that most bikes advertised as such may stretch those claims a bit such bikes do exist. My very own Gixxer 750 is such an example. It has never seen the ground except for the bottom of the kickstand and while it hasn't been babied it hasn't been abused either. Whoever buys mine will get a primo machine.

Oh no, I fully agree there are exceptions, I'm talking about that one particular ad that tries to overemphasize it. "Thou doth protest too much" and all.

[DucHead]

One thing the MSF taught me that is important/useful:  SEE (Search, Evaluate, Execute).