Posted: 3/7/2011 8:36:31 PM EDT
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Well, I am joining your ranks. As of today, I am now the owner of a 2005 Yamaha V-Star 650 that I will be taking delivery of on Saturday. I have been asking everyone I know that rides for advice and the number one thing I hear is to ride like everyone around me is trying to kill me. At this point I am a little nervous. But also very excited!
I am planning to go and get my Motorcycle Permit this week. Any advice for the test? I have heard that a lot of people fail it on their first try. I thought that was kind of odd. |
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"Dress for the slide, not the ride"
I wear a full face helmet, lined "biker" jeans and a jacket with hard pads in it. I have ridden with a half helmet and t-shirt before, and it was awesome, but I just can't justify the risk anymore. And yes, they are trying to kill you. I took the Riders Edge basic course. Good instruction and you test on the last day. Take your certificate right into the DL office and get your license, no testing with the state. Have fun! |
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Congrats! You have rule number 1. down. The rest are in no particular order. Others will help sort them out and add more.
2. Most people do not see cycles (I call my ZX10 a scooter) and ride accordingly. Extension to rule 1. 3. Around those on 4 or more wheels, watch their body language. Are the drivers turning their heads to talk to passengers? What are their hands doing? Watch your mirrors as much as the the ride ahead and on left/right. When following in traffic, get in a mirror, make sure they know you are there. 4. Maintenance,maintenance,maintenance. Read the book that comes with with scooter. Understand AAA now covers scooters for "towing". 5. Find a buddy that been around. Ride with him and watch him as closely as the folks that are in rule 3. Recommend a riders safety course. 6/7. Wear appropriate riding gear. I you have a $10.00 head, get a $10.0 helmet. Good protective clothing from top to bottom is essential. You will fall in some way at some point. Has always puzzled me when I see people wearing shower shoes,shorts and a tank top riding on a high dollar scooter. Road rash is a real pain. Know the weather forecast. 8, Know your capabilities. See rule 6/7. Watch that need for speed some us have and how fast you are really going, not how fast it feels 9/10. Do what you are doing now, ask about safe riding. Keep the shiny side up and the rummer down. |
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The learners permit test is a really, really easy. The actual endorsement riding test is what lots of people fail. You'd be surprised how many folks ride around on bikes with no real idea how to control their bikes when things go slightly less than optimal ("had to lay 'er down..."). With GA's learner's permit policy, I'd bet a fair number of riders never even bother to get their actual endorsement. Quoted: If you are new to street bikes I recommend the motorcycle safety program. It may be more than you want to spend but this is what I did. https://online.dds.ga.gov/motorcycle/index.aspx I highly recommend this as well. If you complete the course, you'll have passed the state test for your motorcycle endorsement. Most insurance companies will give you at least 10% off for completion of this course. If you've ridden before, some of the material may be a little boring, but I can virtually guarantee that you'll learn enough to make it worth your while. Several years ago, the state programs were *very* difficult to get a slot in. Honda has instructors that offer the exact same MSF Basic Rider Course at their very nice facility that were a bit easier to get into and more conveniently scheduled (they don't care if you have a Honda or not...) http://www.offroad-training.org/Street-First-Page.html |
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I cannot stress enough how crucial it is that you take a Motorcycle Safety Course before you hit the road. Go here, sign up, use their bikes and learn life saving information. My father is a MSF acccredited teacher and has taught Riders Edge and MSF classes. It had been 10+ years from the last time I was on a motorcycle and I retook this class and relearned a lot of techniques. I was astonished at how many people that were in my class, who thought they knew everything in the class room were complete morons when it came to the actual riding. http://www.offroad-training.org/Street-First-Page.html |
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Welcome to the fold. In a sense, your safety mantra is correct in that everyone is trying to kill you. Not really, but that idiot who didn't see you is much less concerned for your safety than whatever is occupying his mind at the time, and you happen to be no match for "Rubbin' is racin"!
I have been riding for 21 years, and have developed this mentality: Watch everything. Every animal on the roadside that isn't dead. Every vehicle, including ones that don't immediately appear occupied. Everyone in front of you, behind you, beside you, and especially the ones getting ready to enter the roadway. Now imagine that everyone you can see is about to do the stupidest, most dangerous thing possible, and figure a way out of it. A dip to the side, a jaunt onto the shoulder (not always game over,) or simply letting off the throttle can often save your ass as easily as threshold braking or ABS. Until they make a Sidewinder attachment for motorcycles, defensive driving is the only way to survive. A poster above suggested finding a buddy to ride with, and I agree to a point. Make sure your mentor is mature. I've ridden with younger guys who fit the hooligan profile, but I've also split off from an older Harley rider who looked like he had a death wish. Surely there is an MSF course near you, and it's a good place to start. Good luck, and ride safe. |
| Where do you live? There is a good course right through the killer creek harley davidson dealership in roswell. Im wanting my wife to take the class, but shes 7 months pregnant now. If youre near forsyth county youre more than welcome to go on rides with me, Im a slow cruising kind of guy. |
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Rule # 1 - everyone else on the road is trying to lull you into a false sense of safety and kill you.
remember rule number 1 and you'll have most of what you need. as for developing rider skill and passing any test, I recommend finding a parking lot and simply doing figure 8's. you choose the speed and the size of the turn but be smooth and sure before you try to speed up. as you get smoother, lengthen the distance between the turns so you get some good acceleration and braking thrown in. and remember, everyone else on the road is trying to KILL you... edit to add: LOL. didn't read far enough and I see someone else has already told you about rule number one... |
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I've been riding for 8 years....if you're situational awareness is good, and you dive a good enough bike, you can avoid most idiots. Its the people that also pose a risk to you when you're driving in a car....look both ways before you go on green- stuff like that. Ive had a few idiots not *see* me and been able to move do to an agile bike-a cruiser not so much.....
just watch out for gravel in the roads aroud turns  that cost be a $2500 bike
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The MSF course is in my future for sure. It will be a while before the one I am signed up for is here. I am really excited about the bike, but like I said above, I am also really hesitant. I have been told that this is normal and good for a first time rider. I am going to cycle gear in Lawrenceville on Saturday to pick up a helmet, gloves and a jacket. Hopefully they stock some gear for a 6'7" 260lb. rider. They list it on their site anyway.
Jace, I am in Athens, but after I start feeling better about getting out on the road, I would love to make the trip to Forsyth Co. to do some riding. |
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Riding slow is not riding safe and just puts you in more contact with other drivers. That doesn't mean to ride fast but maintain a pace that is slightly faster than most folks around you and put as much space around you from other drivers that you can. Don't stay in drivers blind spots and in general don't continue to ride right next to someone. Work on your emergency braking and braking to avoid objects in the road(straightening the bike up in a turn to slow and then maintaining the lean) you need to work on your speed with this as too fast and you loose the ability to straighten and slow without risking heading into another lane or oncoming traffic. Take it easy and watch everyone around you, their eyes, head, imagine what they are thinking, and prepare for them to do the dumbest thing you can think of that would put you in dangerous situation.
I've had a few close calls but all this is what I learned real quick. Still a new rider really, 4 years and I know I still have a lot to learn. Also, buy good gear once, not okay gear a couple times before you get the good stuff. And that means not going cheap on boots. No damn work boots or shit of that sort, dedicated riding boots by a good maker. And just because every other idiot on a bike has no gear on in the warm months doesn't mean its okay to do. After all that have fun. 
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If it is going to be a while before you take your BRC course, I'd make a few humble suggestions - Please consider a full face helmet. Don't worry about looking cool - if you need a helmet, more than 70% of the time, you're going to need coverage on your face and jaw - very few accidents involve being dropped on the very top of your head. Those "skid lids" and novelty helmets are worthless for protection from anything other than a ticket. Even on a cruiser, most of your braking power comes from your front brake. Don't be afraid to use it, you won't flip over the handlebars! Locking and instinctively releasing the rear brake can make bad stuff happen very fast, and the rear brakes on a bike can lock up easily when you're trying to stop quickly. Try and avoid big group rides and charity rides for a while. You won't know most of the folks there and have no idea about their skill level and they have no idea about yours. This is not an ideal situation for riding in close quarters. I've seen some incredibly stupid crap happen and won't do them any more. A big expensive bike is not an indication of a skilled rider. Stick to riding in small groups with folks you know well - let someone follow you occasionally and critique your riding. |
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Quoted:
Riding slow is not riding safe and just puts you in more contact with other drivers. That doesn't mean to ride fast but maintain a pace that is slightly faster than most folks around you and put as much space around you from other drivers that you can. Don't stay in drivers blind spots and in general don't continue to ride right next to someone. Work on your emergency braking and braking to avoid objects in the road(straightening the bike up in a turn to slow and then maintaining the lean) you need to work on your speed with this as too fast and you loose the ability to straighten and slow without risking heading into another lane or oncoming traffic. Take it easy and watch everyone around you, their eyes, head, imagine what they are thinking, and prepare for them to do the dumbest thing you can think of that would put you in dangerous situation. After all that have fun. Couldn't have put it better myself. 4 wheel drivers may look for another vehicle before chaning lanes/turning, but their brains are not trained to *see* motorcycles. |
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Never get stagnant with regards to skills- always stay in the frame of mind that you are learning to ride. Once complacency kicks in, you're in danger. Learn to be a better rider than you need to.
Don't carry a passenger for a good while. Slow enough before a turn that you can safely accelerate while in the turn. You should never have to brake in a turn. Through paranoia or wisdom (dunno which), I got into the habit of checking my mirror at a light for cars stopping behind me. I'd rather run a light or make an illegal turn than get whacked. Observe- I saved my life one day by catching a red-light runner through the windows of three rows of cars. I stopped mid-intersection during my green light and watched the jerk slide through the intersection across my front with his brakes locked up. Using your eyeballs (front, left, right, rear) will turn a tragedy into a minor amusement. Take an MSF course. I did mine at St. Mtn H-D |
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Gear... Gear... Gear!!!!
I got swiped by an S-10 in a hit and run just shy of 5 years ago. He was off to my left and changed lanes into me putting his right marker light into my left rear blinker and took the back end out from under me in a curve. Good gear is the only reason I came out of it with only a broken collar bone. my helmet was cracked and scraped on the top and side... the visor had gouges in it from speed contact to the curb as well. My jacket was scraped up bad, I lost a lot of surface to my boots... I could have been much worse off if it were not for the gear. The man fled the scene... Every driver is out to kill you. Now, had I gone into that curve a bit slower... when I saw him coming over into my lane (half a second before impact) I would have had been able to throttle up and maybe git that extra foot of distance on him I needed.. I dont know, cant know now. But I no longer enter curves or corners at the threshold of reason... I give myself a cushion of acceleration room. I look at it in the way that at all times I need to be able to both stop quickly OR accelerate quickly. It is better to have the option of either way rather than just one way. |