Any hints for a lapsed novice motorcyclist?

In My Humble Opinion
1

Yesterday I just traded my 14’ Jonboat rig for a 1999 Yamaha V-Star 650 Classic with around 25,000 miles, straight across trade, he liked my boat, I liked his bike, both were the same price, so we both got an equitable deal

I just had the local PD run a VIN lookup, and my bill of sale checks out, in New Hampshire, any vehicle 1999 or older is title-exempt, so I’ll be at the town hall tomorrow registering it and adding it to my insurance

The last time I rode was around 2004/2005, on a really poor condition Yamaha Virago Midnight 920, great bike if it wasn’t for the wonky starter and constant backfiring, but it served me well for a summer, then was too expensive to fix and parts were nearly impossible to find, I sold it for a song (not literally;) ) the next year

I took the rider training course that year, passed and have always retained my motorcycle endorsement because I knew I was eventually going to get another motorcycle…

That eventually is now!

So, a few questions spring to mind…

Insurance; as the bike was basically “free”, is there any need for anything beyond liability insurance? I’m sure in the event of an accident, the cost to repair the bike would exceed the current value ($1500), and I have a car anyway, the bike would be an in town runabout and backroads Cruiser, no highways for THIS biker, if the bike got wrecked, I could walk away from it, it’s not financed, so no expensive insurance needed, but is the additional coverage needed for things I’m not thinking of right now…

I have liability only on my backup car right now for the same reasons, it’s paid off, and in the event of an accident I’d just scrap it.

As far as riding goes, I know the basic defensive stuff, assume you’re invisible, assume the “cagers” are going to do the stupidest thing you can think of, avoid the edges of the road, gravel, leaves and pine needles and any low traction environments, assume you’re invisible, always ride with your headlight on (high beam in the day to increase visibility), assume you’re invisible, maintain a very conservative following distance, keep your head on a swivel, assume you’re invisible, avoid riding in rain if possible, and keep raingear in your saddlebag, just in case.

Oh and also… assume you’re invisible!

Any additional hints?

2

I ride, I recommend lots of training. Go to the MSF (motorcycle safety foundation) take every course you can.

Also, ride alot. 10 miles a week does not build skills.

The most dangerous time is NOW. first 5 months back on a bike and within 5 miles of your home base, and first 5 mins of a ride.

Remember this is not your car. Mind on riding. You should never feel like you bike knows the way home…thats a sure sign your mind is elsewhere.

I don’t mean to be harsh, just clear. I’ve lost a lot of friends.

3

Trust me, I WILL respect the bike, I always have and always will, the day you take it for granted, it WILL bite you

This is the bike;
Google Photos

I need to take a picture from the other side, here’s the pic from the letgo ad;
Google Photos

As you can see, the pipes are not factory, they’re not LOUD!!! But they are louder than stock, and give the bike a pseudo Harley-Esque sound, a deep loping idle, and a bit of bark under throttle.

I don’t want to annoy my neighbors so until I find a way to quiet it down (any way to quiet aftermarket pipes?), I’ll just use it after everyone is awake, no early morning or late night rides, I realize I may have to bite the bullet and get a set of factory pipes installed.

One experience will forever remain in my mind, and will keep me focused on safe riding…

About 10 years ago, I was driving home from work on a 2 lane backroad, rte 236 in Eliot Maine, at a three way intersection ahead, I see a Honda Goldwing in the middle of the road, on its side, as the police directed traffic around the downed bike, a chill went up my spine as I passed parallel to the bike, ahead was an ambulance closing it’s doors, and just ahead, a woman in a Honda Accord on the side of the road, head in her hands, sobbing uncontrollably…

A week later, a customer came in to my computer repair shop, I noticed he had ridden in on his Harley sport bike, we got to talking and I told him about the accident that day…

His response?

Yeah, I knew him, good guy…he died that day, got run over by a car that “didn’t see him”…

I went silent… I always thought it felt like I had driven over someone’s grave that evening…

I don’t want that to happen to me, that story is in my mind any time I swing a leg over any two wheeled road vehicle, be it a bicycle, a moped, scooter, or motorcycle…

…it’s also why I always give motorcyclists plenty of space, and make sure to acknowledge them and make eye contact so they know that I saw them and know they are there, I also keep my head on a swivel even when in a car.

4

“always ride with your headlight on (high beam in the day to increase visibility)”

Whoever told you to use the high beams in the daytime did you a serious disservice. IMO, and IME, this is a very bad idea. All you are going to do is piss off the “cagers” that you are blinding/(or at least hurting their eyes). Pissing off the “cagers” is not a good idea. They all out weigh you by at least three times. Hell, they are already out to get you, why make it worse?

Buy a kit that flashes your head lights. They have been proven to get all drivers & riders attention. No high beams in the daylight, please.

Keeping your head on a swivel is crucial, as is keeping your brain engaged in your riding. Daydreaming is best left for when you reach your destination & the engine is off. I also have lost a lot of friends.

Oh one more thing, No alcohol! My wife is an EMT, almost all of the riders she transports to the hospital have beer on their breath & they usually puke up pizza. Do not be one of those. Pizza is fine, just NO BEER!

I suspect that a lot of her rider-patients would have been able to avoid the “accident” if they had had their cat-like reflexes, which were hampered by booze.

There is a saying in the pilot word, “Eight hours from bottle to throttle.” This should be applied to riders as well.

Stay safe & keep the rubber side down, 48.

PS. As far as insurance goes, I do as you suggest. Many of my friends have extra medical insurance. The theory is if you go down, you will need the extra medical insurance. It does make some sense. Your call.

5

Don’t worry, I have never driven or ridden impaired, if I’m going to enjoy an “adult beverage” it’ll be when I’m at home and so late at night that there’s absolutely no chance of me needing to go out, typically any time after 11:30 PM is okay

There has only been one time I had a beer during the day, it was after work, ONE beer, and I waited two hours before getting behind the wheel, I know that alcohol typically metabolizes in one hour, but I wanted to be extra safe

Through the rather unscientific test procedure of using Forza 4 and a VW GTI, I have determined that my driving gets impaired at just slightly over one beer, I can clearly NOT hold my liquor, and I discovered that in a safe virtual environment where only a few polygons were “harmed”

6

On most of the four bikes I owned, I added an air horn. It can replace the stock horn, or if you can easily install a second button in a convenient location, you can keep the stock for ordinary use and save the air horn for when you really need to get someone’s attention.

My anecdote: in college I only had a motorcycle, but I lived on campus the whole time and didn’t need a car. After graduating, for two years I worked in downtown D. C. and lived in Silver Spring, a few blocks from Metro (the subway system) and didn’t need a car then either. Then I got a job in Columbia, about halfway between Baltimore and D. C., and moved there. Still didn’t need a car. But the new job didn’t last, and I went back to the job downtown, but now lived a 45 minute drive away.

Traffic in D. C. is terrible, but I thought that maybe commuting by motorcycle wouldn’t be too bad. So I gave it a try.

The first day I pulled over to the side of the Baltimore-Washington Parkway to help a couple of civilians (cagers) trying to drag a downed bike out of the roadway. The rider had been hit and was lying on the side of the road waiting for the ambulance.

I’m not superstitious, but I took it as a sign to NOT commute by bike, and bought a car a few days later.

7

Mac, it sounds like you got a handle on it.

Good luck/ Remember 4 wheels moves the body, 2 wheels moves the soul

8

Hmm, Hornblasters train horn on a motorcycle… that’d be even funnier than putting one in my Diesel Golf (hey, it’s a diesel, it’s got the right to have one… :wink:

9

As a long time rider, the first thing I tell any new or returning rider is to read David Hough’s Proficient Motorcycling books. Basically, any advice I might give about improving your roadcraft both from a skills and a safety perspective Hough has already written more and better material than I probably could relate.

The second thing thell them is to watch the SMIDSY video. It’s part one in a safety series that never got off the ground, but it’s a hell of a contribution all on its own.

Third thing: people will tell you to run your high beam, run a flashing headlight, wear hi-viz, shoot off fireworks, whatever. I don’t believe that any of that really works. People that aren’t going to see you just aren’t going to (refer to the SMIDSY video about relative motion, looming, etc). It’s even worse now with people texting and driving because they’re not just not seeing, they *aren’t even looking *any more.

Best thing I think you can do is make sure your braking and swerving skills are sharp, then ride with your head on a swivel, looking at everything that could be a risk factor and riding with those factors in mind. Or in other words, all of what David Hough says in his books.

10

Invest in and wear motorcycle specific clothing. All the time.

11

You can take it off to bathe!

12

Take it again! I rode from 1972 until 1995 and then took 10 years off because of a mild stroke. I remembered basically what to do but not so much the whys. And the technology of the brakes and bikes had changed. So even though I had my license and all I signed up for the basic riders class; it’s free in our state. Which lead to an interesting phone call:

“Hello; I’m Russ M from the MSF. I am one of the riding instructors and noticed your name and I have to ask - are you related to the Kopek who worked for Harley back in the 70s?”

I don’t know; does wearing the same skin make us related?

“OK – the voice and the attitude is the same ---- how the Hell are you? And why are you taking the basic class?”

When I explained things he agreed that it wasn’t a bad idea. Since the class test was also the drivers test and since it was moot for me, he used me to ease everyone a notch or two.

“Now in this part I want you to do X. Remember you can fail this part and still pass the class and test. Except for Kopek; if he fails we’ll wrestle him to the ground and burn his drivers license.”

“Now in this part I want you to do Y. Remember you can fail this part and still pass the class and test. Except for Kopek; if he fails we’ll tell his HOG Chapter and they will mock him for years.”

All and all it was worth the time and is the main reason I don’t have those “close calls” everyone talks about when they return from a time-out.
As for other hints; I always have two vests with me. High viz which is always on in odd conditions such as night, dawn, dusk, fog, drizzle ------ damn near anything. My other vest is the standard biker leather with some patches and all. That is for in traffic and some other conditions. My belief and that of the person I copied the idea from is -------- the average little old lady in a Caddy doesn’t know the difference between an AMA club and the Pagans and they tend to give you a little more room. And by God they do; I can’t think of a time I have been tailgated when I’ve had my “colors” on. With the high viz I’ve had one or two assholes try to put their tires on my buddy-pegs. There is something about that big patch and rocker ------- well, it just works for me.

13

Long time rider and former MSF instructor here. Some good suggestions here already and I’ll repeat this one — take the MSF RSS basic riding course again. Ideally, find a class that’ll let you use your own bike. With your cruiser and raked fork, some of the low-speed turning drills will be tougher but you’ll be the better for it.

Another suggestion I give to all seasoned riders is to find a police riding academy that teaches their police course to civilian riders. Do this after taking the MSF RSS, and after you’ve ridden a little and are back to feeling competent again. This course will push you. You’ll learn some new skills and drills.

Also take the MSF ERC for experienced riders. These will be good litmus tests to calibrate your own assessment to outside standards.

Never heard that one before. Love it!

Live to ride. Ride to live. Enjoy!

14

Stay in the middle of the lane like a lowly cager if you’re not worried about the guy in front not seeing you, especially at a bridge or fly-over. Please split lanes only when the vehicles are stopped and the light is red.

Personally I don’t cruise on my bike when riding in the city. I ride just slow enough to keep the wheels “gripping” the asphalt, and will slow down as soon as I ease the throttle.

15

Yep. I remember the many wonderful trips through the countryside on my CX500 when I lived in a small town. Mid-afternoon, sunset, each was its own wondrous experience. The different smells and temperature changes as you traveled and rose up and down the hillsides were just magical, just like flying. I had no idea before this that there were such dramatic temperature differences at dusk between low-lying areas and higher elevations, but there certainly are.

OTOH, it’s a dangerous way to travel. Stay safe, OP, enjoy with all due caution.

16

That one brings another little one to mind; if you are in a place where right turns on red are legal DO NOT signal your intent if you are the first one at the light. What you consider safe and what the a-hole behind you in the F-150 consider safe may be two different things and he may get stupid rather than wait behind you ----- some drivers feel that “can” means “must and right now”. If you leave the signal off they assume you are going straight or left and don’t get as pushy.

On splitting; I usually don’t except if traffic is at a near-dead-stop or dead-stop and I am at risk of cooking my motor. But YMMV greatly on that one.

17

20 years, 180K miles, no crashes for me. Here was my advice seven years ago for a new rider; much of it is probably also applicable for you.

Re: lighting, please do not use your high-beam during the day; this will only serve to annoy other motorists. Also, I mentioned it at the above link, but I’ll say it here: I don’t recommend a headlight modulator. I had one once and got rid of it because I found that it just confused and annoyed motorists around me. If you want extra conspicuity, I recommend modifying your turn signals to accept dual-filament bulbs so they can serve as full time marker lamps, and adding a set of yellow Motolights to your forks.

I will also repeat another point from my link: wear earplugs. Riding a motorcycle is noisy, and if you don’t use earplugs, you will gradually develop permanent hearing loss.

By taking training and getting a license endorsement, you’ve removed yourself from the general pool of at-risk riders and placed yourself in the group that is at lower risk of disaster, so good on you. Having been dormant for 15 years or so, it probably wouldn’t hurt to go take the course again.

18

some organizations offer a “returning rider” class which is basically a re-hash of the Basic Rider course but you have to bring your own bike. Check msf.org or your local community college. failing that, nearly every Harley dealer runs a “Riding Academy” where they offer the same training.

YES YES YES.

and not because of noise from the bike or the exhaust. it’s the wind. Wind noise is deafening. even with a full-face helmet.

and cheap foam earplugs are fine. you can still hear the things you need to hear just fine.

19

Not all earplugs are created equal. The highest noise reduction rating (NRR) I’ve seen is 33, and to me that’s barely enough while riding. Here’s what I use; I recommend getting a box of these and sticking them in your garage. Use them while riding, mowing the lawn, and using power tools or hammers. Someday you’ll (hopefully) be a senior citizen, and your quality of life then will be better because you won’t be socially isolated by severe hearing loss.

20

Good point on the earplugs, as a sport shooter I understand the importance of hearing protection, I’ll pick up a good set of reusable foamies at the local gun shop

And taking a refresher course sounds logical too, I’d be lying if my brain wasn’t screaming at me every time I swing a leg over the bike just to sit on it that “ THIS IS DANGEROUS, YOU DONT WANT TO END UP LIKE THAT GUY ON ROUTE 236, DO YOU?!?..

So far, I’ve just been rolling back in my driveway and motoring forward to get a feel for the clutch and brakes before venturing out into the “real world”, I also plan to limit myself to the road in my development initially before venturing out onto surface streets, maybe ride to the mailboxes and back, then when I’m more comfortable out to the Cumbys within bicycle distance, no downside to taking it slow to build my confidence

The first real ride will be to Mom’s house, about 20 miles away, I’m going to take it gradually, and as stated upthread, highways are right out, that’s what my car is for.

Quick trips in town that my Diesel car won’t like? The bike
Everything else? The car.

I’m basically treating the bike like an oversized scooter on steroids…