A few days ago I posted this video on the KLK Cycles Facebook page. A sportbike rider has a severe mishap while riding on a track. His clip on handlebar becomes detached, which is basically catastrophic at the rate of speed this bike was going. The rider calmly straightens the bike out and slows down, eventually coming to a stop. The level of calm this rider had in a terrible situation is remarkable!
While, I hope you never find yourself in a similar situation, I think that a rider should be mentally prepared to react to an emergency without panicking. This is WAY easier said than done, but running through these situations in your head can never hurt. What would you do if one of your tires blew out, or your drive chain/belt snapped? Figure out the most likely mishaps you might find yourself in and think your way out of them. This will train yourself to react correctly in an emergency.
I've only had one major mechanical mishap in my motorcycle riding lifetime. It was on my first bike, a 1977 Yamaha DT 100. I had just replaced the throttle cable that day. As a twelve year old kid, my mechanic skills were far from perfect. I mis-routed the cable and it was nearly kinked in one place. When I made the initial ride with my newly replaced cable, the throttle became stuck at full, when I was in 5th gear (top speed for this bike)! Luckily, I didn't panic and just pulled in the clutch and quickly flipped the killswitch. I hadn't thought about any of this ever happening, but like I said, I was lucky! I guess you can say I learned that lesson early in my riding life!
"Life is ten percent what you experience and ninety percent how you respond to it." - Dorothy M. Neddermeyer
Last Friday was the warmest day of the year so far. It was 90 degrees Fahrenheit, which is unseasonably warm for spring in the north. I, of course, was stuck at work until the evening and wouldn't be able to ride until the commute home. Then at lunchtime, my wife called and recommended that we both use our paid time off to enjoy a motorcycle ride in the afternoon. At first, I thought that there was no way I could make it happen with the looming deadlines I needed to meet, but I decided that I really needed to take advantage of the beautiful weather.
We didn't end up going too far, but we rode about 80 miles in total for the afternoon. It was incredibly enjoyable and a huge stress relief. Also, what better way to kick off the weekend then a motorcycle ride.
So, if you are able, take advantage of good weather whenever you can. You'll regret not riding when winter starts next year. I guess my wife and I are lucky to have a jobs that are flexible enough to allow us to take a couple of hours off to do some riding. I think I'll be doing this more often in the future!
"One day your life will flash before your eyes. Make sure it's worth watching." - Gerard Way
It happened! I'm finally riding my motorcycle and it is outstanding! Like I've mentioned in previous posts, there's not much that can achieve the need to be in the present like riding a motorcycle. The stress from my day to day life fades away as I concentrate on the road in front of me.
With this being said, I'm not ashamed to admit that my riding skills are definitely rusty after the long winter. Taking off, handling corners, and braking don't feel as smooth as they normally do. I'm not sure if this is evident to anyone watching me ride, but I can feel it. With that being said, the fact that my new bike has riding modes is a huge positive.
My new bike has throttle by wire traction control and ABS. The riding modes change the input each of these systems have on the motorcycle performance. With the "urban" mode selected, the throttle by wire system not only stops the rear wheel from spinning, it actually reduces the rear wheel horsepower significantly. While, this may seem like a bummer in most cases, it comes in handy during a heavy rain, or when you need to re-acclimate yourself to your motorcycle. Also given the fact that the local roads still aren't completely clear of debris, this is the right choice right now. I'll have plenty of time to ride like an asshole as soon as I'm used to the bike again.
On a side note, I'd like to mention that if the me from 15 years ago read this, I'd berate myself for being a complete sissy. It's funny how time and life experience (also technological advances) can change a person's perspective. Part of my hope with this blog is to share some of my life experience to keep young riders from making the same stupid mistakes I made. Then again, I doubt I'd have listened at that age!
"My life is on the road, man. I need to keep moving." - Matthew McConaughey
In California it's not illegal to lane split. If you didn't know, lane splitting is riding in between lanes of traffic, usually when traffic is slow moving or at a standstill. Actually, there's recent legislation to make lane splitting legal in California (as I said before, it's just not illegal). With the new laws, there will be some rules to regulate this practice.
Have I ever done any lane splitting? Yes, but only a couple of times, as I don't live in California (I believe that it is allowed in other countries as well). For the most part, it seemed pretty unsafe to me.
The reason I'm writing about this is this study (http://www.tmleuven.be/project/motorcyclesandcommuting/20110921_Motorfietsen_eindrapport_Eng.pdf). A couple conclusions found here were that lane splitting actually helps traffic flow and is MORE safe than just sitting in traffic like all of the other vehicles. You are actually more visible when you are riding along side of a slow moving vehicle than when you are in front or behind them! Maybe lane splitting should be legalized everywhere.
"A story to me means a plot where there is some surprise. Because that's how life is - full of surprises." - Isaac Bashevis Singer
So, the roads are bare. My hopes have finally come true. However, I haven't taken my bike out yet. Why? A few reasons I'll discuss below.
First I want to say that this is not putting down anyone who has already been riding in my area. A few years ago I would have been doing the same.
First, my bike is only a year old and the roads are covered in corrosive salt that has been dumped on the roads for the last four months. I would rather not quicken the rust process on my nearly new motorcycle. If I was still riding one of my old bikes my attitude toward this would probably be different.
Second, along with the salt, there is copious amounts of sand that has also been dumped on the roads. Piles of sand on corners and at stop signs can lead to a wipe out rather quickly.
Third is the water runoff from all the melting snow. Now, being a rider who is all for riding in wet conditions, this can seem like a contradiction to my normal stance, but the water has the chance to be quite deep in this instance (I've ridden through six inch deep water running across a road in past springs).
Lastly, when the temperature rises like it has, the wildlife tends to start moving. Like us humans, animals like to get out and exercise (actually, they're trying to find food) when weather becomes pleasant. I've mentioned before that I'm currently traveling for work and during my travels I had to brake for multiple deer, turkeys, crows, and porcupines. Combine this with the aforementioned bad road conditions and you could be setting yourself up for a shitty day when an animal jumps in front of you unexpectedly.
My advice? Wait until we get a nice rain to wash most of the sand and salt from the roads. It's only going to be an extra week to wait and it might save you from an accident. Either way, ride safe everyone!
"Said woman take it slow, and it'll work itself out fine. All we need is just a little patience." - lyrics from Patience by Guns N' Roses
If you want to get enraged, take a look at this article and video (http://www.msn.com/en-us/autos/motorcycles/video-road-rage-fight-between-motorcyclist-and-car/ar-BBrrpAs). The video shows an altercation between a motorcyclist and a driver of a car. The guy in the car is either too ignorant to realize that swerving around a motorcycle like that could lead to SEVERE injury or death, or he actually wants to kill the motorcyclist.
I'm pretty sure the motorcyclist did something to provoke this guy, but it was taken to a whole new level of crazy. I'm sure this video will be used as evidence to prosecute the driver. Actually, he had to notice the GoPro on the rider's helmet, so he must be a moron to continue to attack him with his car.
My advice to anyone finding themselves in a similar situation is to flee to a safe spot as quickly as possible. It seemed like this rider was trying to do this at times, but never got away. I saw some pretty clear straight stretches of road that he could have accelerated away from the car. Maybe I'm wrong, but that's the way I saw it, especially since the rider was on a super sport. That bike should easily be able to get away from the car. But, riding at high speeds in a residential area carries it's own dangers as well. This is really a bad situation in all regards!
"I may be crazy, but it keeps me from going insane." - Waylon Jennings
I wasn't going to rant about the weather this week. Then I woke up this morning and my thermometer read 3 degrees Fahrenheit. 3 fucking degrees!!!!! Yes, this is April! This is about the farthest from motorcycle weather you can possibly get.
I know this post is nearly the same as the one last week, but I need to vent to keep my own sanity. Actually, I'm traveling for work, so I wouldn't be riding even if the weather was great. Since I'm not even home I shouldn't really complain, but I still do.
So, if you're having a motorcycle free April like me, keep your head up. Like I said in last week's post, riding weather is on it's way. There's no need to shop for houses in the south yet (I have done that in the past when we've had unusually long winters). On the bright side, we have a lot of extra time to get our bikes ready for riding.
"Nothing burns like the cold." - George R. R. Martin
