Protect Yourself While Riding with these Safety Tips

CAN YOU SEE ME NOW?

by Leslie Kay Drury

I see you?  Can you see me?  As riders of two wheeled machines we see many things.  Especially visible are trucks and cars (cages) all seemingly aiming to take our lives or at the minimum ruin our carefully planned ride.  Any trip we take has the possible misfortune of being interrupted by someone texting, Facebooking, applying mascara, or rubber necking at anything other than the road.  Some mishaps are simply unpreventable accidents.  Others may be prevented by taking some simple steps to stay visible.

Stay out of the No-Zone

The illustration below shows where a trucker will be unable to see you.  These blind spots are dangerous and need to be respected.  A tractor trailer takes

a lot longer to stop than a mini-van.  Keep plenty of distance between you and them.  All vehicles have blind spots.  Even other Motorcyclists.  If you are riding in a stagger with another biker be sure you can see their face in their mirror.  If you can see them they can see you.

Reflective Gear

Wearing reflective gear and using reflective tape when and where possible makes you visible. If you are traveling or even just doing day to day riding you may and probably will at some point be on your motorcycle at night.  Want to be seen?  Having reflective material on the back of your gloves and using your hand signals in addition to the signals on your cycle may make all the difference.  Is your motorcycle Basic Black?  Reflective tape on the back of your jacket and or helmet will add visibility for the drivers around you.

Wear Bright Colors

Road workers wear fluorescent orange and yellow for a reason. It can be seen.  High contrast clothing and clothing with reflective reports attracts the eye and can get you seen in time to prevent a collision.  OSHA has square inch recommendations for how much high vis gear a road worker needs to wear based on the speed of the surrounding traffic.  Guess what…the square inch requirement is highest for those nearest traffic.

Avoid putting yourself in a compromising situation

While we cannot avoid riding at night entirely we can limit it. The likelihood of a serious motorcycle accident significantly increases at night.

Common sense tells us that rush hour is not a place we want to be on purpose. Simple planning and time management can save your life.

Lighting

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has done the research and proven that conspicuous forward lighting assists in the prevention of motorcycle collisions. This includes daytime collisions as well as night time. Today’s available LED lights provide even greater visibility and therefore afford a higher degree of safety.

In the day to day hurry and hustle of our lives we never seem to slow down and just take our time.  Many of us bought our motorcycle as part of our recreational time.

recreation noun

  1. refreshment by means of some pastime, agreeable exercise, or the like.
  2. a pastime, diversion, exercise, or other resource affording relaxation and enjoyment.

Remember to Relax and enjoy your ride.  Enjoy the pastime and the diversion of it.  Good decision making and education should always part of the exercise of getting out on the roads.  There will always be people texting, Facebooking, rubbernecking, or just plain ignoring the rules of the road.  Take the steps to respect the “No Zone”, be visible, relax, and just ride.

what to pack for a cross country motorcycle trip

Traveling by Motorcycle

what to pack for a cross country motorcycle tripYou have decided to mark Cross Country Motorcycle trip off your bucket list. Now that the decision is made you will need to prepare. The obvious will be picking your dates, your destination, and making sure your ride is ready for the road. You will of course need to pack. Packing seems simple enough. You are aware of how much space you have, and you are certain what will fit. So you pack it all up, and then go out to load your bike. Realizing that the Beverly Hill Billy’s truck was loaded lighter you go back to the drawing board.

You will need to be prepared not only for your day to day care such as bathing and brushing your teeth but also for things like Sunburn, Bee Stings and any minor injury you may have along the way. A good checklist is helpful and a great resource can be found at http://www.firstaidanywhere.com/motorcycle-first-aid-kit.html. This site details items that they say can be packed into a bag 7”x5”x3”. I did not see Bee Sting treatment listed here, and from experience I strongly recommend that it be included. If you will be camping at any time on your trip Bug Repellant will also be a very close friend to have along. Another useful item is a small travel pack of baby wipes. You can figure out a number of uses for these.

No one on a Motorcycle really wants to think about a flat tire. However, you must consider the possibility. You could find yourself alone and stuck with no cellular service. Progressive Suspension has a tire kit available that will easily fit in your limited space. It includes CO2 cartridges and could save you from being stuck.

So you have prepared for possible injury, and for a flat tire. What about communication? Most all of us have cellular phones these days. This wonderful technology is battery dependent and not everyone has a 12 volt charger on their bike. There are products available that use solar power to provide a charge for your mobile phone, or digital camera. A simple internet search will bring up several options, and you should be able to find one versatile enough to charge most devices.  Some will even include a flashlight as part of the unit.

While writing this article I spoke with Ray Vega of the Palm Beach Motorcycle Safety Council. I asked him what he would take on a trip. First answer was his wife followed by Rain Gear, First Aid Kit, Tool Kit, Tire Repair Kit, Flashlight, Water and Snacks. We also discussed the usefulness of items such as a Leatherman, and a Swiss Army Knife. These items pack the most bang for your buck, and can be packed in small spaces.

Be aware of the weight rating of your cycle and tires. Overloading the bike will have an effect on not only the tires but also on the handling of your bike. As for the rest of your packing adventure there are many checklists out there detailing hundreds of items you might need to have with you. Some of which will take you right back to the Beverly Hill Billy look. During a 2 and ½ year period I relied solely on my motorcycle for transportation and I traveled a bit during that time. Keeping it as simple as possible was the best and it was a hard learned technique. You can always find a coin laundry for your clothes, and some hotels will have one onsite. Pack light, pack simple, and pack useful.

Be sure to verify your roadside assistance on your motorcycle insurance policy, and that your coverage is up to date. Ride safe, and ride often.

Items to Consider When Finding Your Dream Motorcycle

Items to Consider When Shopping for Your Dream Bike

Motorcycle Fitment

Items to Consider When Finding Your Dream MotorcycleSo your pants are a 32” Waist; 36” Length; size 10 shoes, Gloves are an XL. With this information you can reasonably order clothing off the internet and expect it to fit. Shopping for a motorcycle that fits is not as simple. You go to the local Motorcycle dealership and buy for considerable sums of money a machine because it is pretty; caught your eye; you could not live another minute without it bike of your dreams. Motorcycles are not sized for Small, Medium, or Large. This is not a one size fits all purchase. Obviously if your inseam is 29” rather than 36” you may need to take this into consideration.

Your motorcycle needs to fit you. You need to be able to maneuver the bike comfortably and confidently. Make sure your Brake and Clutch controls are properly adjusted to the size of your hand. You need to be able to grasp them comfortably. Having your clutch adjusted correctly will make your maneuvering go so much more smoothly.

Before lowering your bike and changing the suspension it was manufactured with, look at lowering your seat height to get your feet on the ground. Having your feet firmly on the ground gives you a level of confidence on hills, gravel roads, or other questionable surfaces. Seat height adjustment can be approached in different ways. For Instance replacing the stock saddle you already own; or remodeling the stock seat (contouring the existing seat pad material, or having the seat pan re-upholstered to fit you) to allow a lower seat height. Your new motorcycle may have adjustment s that can be made to lower your center of gravity and keep you stable during difficult maneuvers.

Some items to take into consideration when shopping for the bike of your dreams are:

While sitting on the bike reach for the handle bars. This should not be a reach but a comfortable extension of your arm that allows your wrist to stay straight and the elbow slightly bent.

Your Knees should not be “up in the handle bars”.

Moving your feet to your brake and shift levers should be a comfortable transition and not require stretching out to reach them. If the reach is too extreme it will inhibit your reaction time to an emergency and fatigue you on long rides.

A great tool for sizing up a motorcycle is http://cycle-ergo.com . Here you can enter your height, inseam, make and model of motorcycle you are considering. This will give you an idea of how the bike will fit you. If the fit is close to what you want you should not rule out a model until you have tried it in person. Your weight is also a factor in how the cycle will fit and cycle-ergo does not take this into consideration. Enter some bikes you are familiar with to get a feel for how the site works then enter your newly desired model.

If you are in love with a particular bike don’t rule out customizations such as bar risers, custom seats, different size grips, extension kits for forward controls, or the endless number of handlebar types. Fitment is not about making your ride pretty but more about comfort, and safety. Pretty however can be a nice side effect.

Should you take the plunge into a new bike purchase and customize it to your needs don’t forget to notify your insurance agent. We will need to know not only about the new ride but also about all of the cool upgrades.