Riding safe on public roads. What it means.

[EvilSteve]

Is dragging knee on the street dangerous?

a) yes, because you are going too fast
b) no, because if you know how to do it, its safe.
c) It depends on the situation.

You can drag a knee going under the speed limit on some corners (depending on the radius), so technically it isn't illegal in this instance. Does that make it safe? It depends would be my answer and it depends on a lot of things.

I think we could all point to certain actions and say that they were unsafe (100mph wheelies through traffic on a freeway) but with the exception of some extreme examples, most actions are relatively more or less safe depending on the circumstances, the person doing them, the motorcycle they're riding and the condition of that motorcycle.

On my (old) bike, on a warm day, with my tires warmed up, on a particular road I know, I can drag a knee going under the speed limit. On another day with colder temperatures, different tires,  different state of mind perhaps, I lost the front. What makes this activity safe or unsafe? Let's just say I'm talking about a left hander (in the US so we're riding on the right hand side of the road) and I'm not cutting the corner (such bad form). Do I know my bike well enough to know how much extra lean I had after I'd touched down? Had I been trained to adjust my line in a lean? Brake in a lean? If we're not talking about me but a professional road racer (which I'm distinctly not!). What if I'd never been on that road before?

Another example to consider is lane splitting. Is it any less or more safe in CA to split than it is anywhere else? I remember when I first split it was pretty scary & seemed unsafe but if done regularly, it is and also seems more safe. I don't split anymore but mostly because it pisses people off & isn't legal here in NY. As a new rider the perception would probably be that splitting isn't safe, as a more experienced rider you may feel that it's safe or maybe not. It depends on experience, mindset, opinion, skill, the bike you're riding and the place you live (how do people react).

Currency is a consideration when riding too, I don't ride as much as I used to & as such my skills aren't as practiced as they were. I need to slow down (and have) because what was once safe (enough) for me now isn't.

Bottom line: what is safe is subjective & depends on a lot of variables that don't stay the same.

[smooth]

This thread sounds kinda like trolling. If nothing else, I would expect to see it on a cruiser board rather than a forum dedicated to sportbikes. Maybe a Yamaha Star forum?

Pennyrobber, I totally agree.

[WetDuc]

Wow, this is quite a thread.  Riding is dangerous.  I watched my friend crash yesterday.  Coming into a left turn, he got target fixated on the outside of the curve and bumped up the curb into the grass and went down.  We were only going about 30mph.  This is the second time he has gone off the road on the outside of the turn.  I don't know what to say about it...it sucked watching it happen in my vibrating rear view mirror.  But it doesn't change anything...I am still going to ride, he is still going to ride, but we both lived and learned (he with more consequences than myself).  I don't know if it's right to decide for yourself or anyone else if they are safe rider.  Riding is dangerous.  I do a lot of fishing and that can be dangerous, too, but I still do it.  I'm having trouble deducing the point of this conversation, but I do sense and share the confusing emotions about the safety of riding as it pertains to the decisions of the rider.  I'm not sure if anything real could be accomplished in 100 pages of ranting...other than emotional venting. 

[EvilSteve]

Your friend needs to go take a class - Lee Parks, or a track school. You can run off the road at 30 & be fine or he could run off the road at 30 & end up badly injured or worse. Not to be taken lightly.

[WetDuc]

Funny you mention that, he is going to a class this weekend.  He would have already taken the class, but some kind of postponement has pushed it back to now.

[EvilSteve]

Glad to hear it. 

[zLoki]

Interesting thread. 

Something to think about - Your (and mine) "personal" choice to ride the way we want also puts the lives of others in danger.  Not the same extent as taking your 911 up to 150, losing control and taking out a mini van full of handicapped orphaned school children but you could cause a car to swerve off the road by simply scaring the crap out of them.  How will you feel when a kid in the back seat that climbed out of their child seat dies because of it? 

There is a reason there are speed limits and laws.  Choose to break them all you want but at the end of the day, your choice to ride fast is irresponsible.  Then again being responsible can be boring.

Be safe and think of others, that should be enough 

[LA]

, but then I never crashed on any motorcycle and that is all that matters to me.

Well keep ridin' Doood and you will.

Heck I crash five times in one year, but was never going much over the speed limit by the time I hit the pavement.  Thank God, never hit anything immovable at speed. 

Down in the flat lands I pretty much don't do much hooliganing, but up on the Mountain it's a little different.  I've been trying to slow down a little since I got my new Titanium hip.

To each his/her own I guess.

LA

[He Man]

I've been trying to slow down a little since I got my new Titanium hip.

Doesn't that just mean you are more indestructible?


Speed limit laws can have its own thread. I dont think they should exist on highways. I also dont think it should be so easy to get a license.

[Duc800]

My opinion that safe isn't quite the right word here.  I would use the word risk.  And all of the discussion is about recognizing and managing this risk.  For me, as a relatively new rider, it's mostly about developing riiding skills.  There are many things we have control over and many that we don't.  So work on the things we can and be ready for the things we can't.  That component residing between the ears is the big variable.  We like to think we are in control of it but often not - at least speaking for myself.

My closest call came in a construction zone at about 40MPH when a dump truck pulled out from the right and was doing a U turn right in front of me - a wall of steel.  My MSF training kicked in and I grabbed everything.  The rear skidded a little right, then a little left, I looked up and the truck was gone, I let go and continued on.  But a lot of thoughts in those couple of seconds.  Glad I was on a Ducati and not something slow to brake.

[916_tommy_s4]

This thread is great, and some interesting opinions. But Ill keep this one short for once...

I am not a safe rider....

According to the original poster.

I got my bike to have fun, and that's what I do with it, I don't defend the way I ride and quite frankly on most occasions I'd be considered quite placid, turtle-ish even. But then theres those twisties, and those hill climbs....

I started riding for fun, perhaps that's what needs to be kept in mind when preaching about how unsafe I am. I did three months of one on one training before I went on the road, which also involved road craft, so I didn't hop straight on the bike and start acting like an arsehole, but none-the-less knowing the risks.....

I. still. have. fun. That's what it's about isn't it?

Whoa that WAS kinda long after all. Think I might take my unsafe-self out for a ride, cause I can deal with it.

[EvilSteve]

I didn't hop straight on the bike and start acting like an arsehole

What was all the training for then?

[WhiteStripe]

I don't wear condoms and eat bacon.

[916_tommy_s4]

What was all the training for then?

Hehe... not sure but I hope it helps me on those unsafe rides of mine... Mostly I think it was cause I didn't want to break my nice bike!!!!!

[EvilSteve]

I don't wear condoms and eat bacon.

I don't wear condoms when I eat bacon either!