500,000 miles, your safety ideas

Like Paul F I read before riding season begins. I usually read these books in this order. Been through them at least five times. Always find something useful or am reminded of something to work on this riding season.

Proficient Motorcycling by David L. Hough
More Proficient Motorcycling David L. Hough
Total Control by Lee Parks
Sport Riding Techniques by Nick Ienatsch

walterK75 said:

Like Paul F I read before riding season begins. I usually read these books in this order. Been through them at least five times. Always find something useful or am reminded of something to work on this riding season.

Proficient Motorcycling by David L. Hough
More Proficient Motorcycling David L. Hough
Total Control by Lee Parks
Sport Riding Techniques by Nick Ienatsch

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To that list I would add:

Motorcycle Roadcraft: The Police Rider's Guide to Better Motorcycling by Phillip Coyne.

http://www.amazon.com/Motorcycle-Ro...=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1333232583&sr=1-1


Harry

940000+

All BMWs in my life since 1972 R75/5 and too many to list. Yamaha's and a Honda before that and one BSA Lightning, way back. Congrats to my lady friend Voni, beating me and all others. 377000m on my R100/7 alone, which I keep still parked along others in the garage, ride ready. You want some thoughts? I'm also a pilot and always treat my bikes like airplanes! Why? Well, both require a really good inspection before flight and both kill you if you miss the details...I ride silent, no music, just my preference but love the drone of highway and engine and my thoughts uninterupted. Must be some peace in that. I drink no coffee my whole life, never smoked and drink so little, a half glass of vino knocks me over. Just ride any way you can and maybe you have a long life with so many smiles and tales to tell. Happy Trails, Randy"Polarbear"

I should say

Voni, most others, BUT you're certainly on a short list of million milers. Be proud, you should be and we are of you. You know when we are 90, maybe even a 100 in age, we'll still be proud and just perhaps a ride here and there thrown in.....They'll call us the cross towners, lol..., not unlike some riders I've known...Randy

Polarbear said:

Voni, most others, BUT you're certainly on a short list of million milers. Be proud, you should be and we are of you. You know when we are 90, maybe even a 100 in age, we'll still be proud and just perhaps a ride here and there thrown in.....They'll call us the cross towners, lol..., not unlike some riders I've known...Randy

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Thanks a million Randy!

And thanks to all the riders over the years who have helped me hone my skills and my thinking to be able to ride those sMiles accident free!

Voni
sMiling

I only have a bit less than 250,000 miles under my butt in 40 years of riding everything from a little Yammy 100 ring-dinger to my present R1100RS. 215,000 of those miles have been on my 76 R100RS and 94 R1100RS. I've also been a MSF instructor for 20 of those 40 years, and I dirt ride and recreational ice race a bike.

I have found that everything the MSF teaches for visibility, lane placement, space cushion, following distance, see/search/scan, traction management, risk awareness (AND responsibility), etc, etc, ALL work very well to reduce your risk. Same for techniques and skills from David Hough, Lee Parks, Keith Code, Larry Grodsky, etc. Note though, I said nothing about speed, as I feel speed itself does not kill. But, stupid and irresponsibility DOES injure, maim, and kill. Anyone who has ridden with me knows I am not a slow, uninspired rider. I like riding WAY too much to simply plod along. I like to push, and expand my riding abilities.

But, I feel the biggest impact any rider has on his/her riding, is the rider's attitude about riding. Like the quote about "not fearing water, means you are likely to drown", similarly, any rider who rides along thinking "I'll take whatever comes, and adjust to it" means that rider WILL have to adjust/react to it. My attitude is one of "I am the first and only one to do anything about making my riding the best it can be, always."I feel the rider's attitude is THE guiding principle that determines every choice the rider makes about riding, from things like helmets to choices about speed and lean angles.

I do not accept, for myself, comments like "suddenly", or, "there was nothing I could do about it." I treat my riding and the things that occur to me whan riding, as "my fault first", before I place any blame or cause on other road users or conditions. In my 40 years of road riding, I have parted company with my bikes four times, and each time was my fault, my fault, my fault, my fault. One event resulted in a busted ankle and a titanitum rod in my left leg.

ANDYVH said:

I do not accept, for myself, comments like "suddenly", or, "there was nothing I could do about it."

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Situation: riding your bike in good weather on clear public roads with a steep wall of rock on one side and a steep drop on the other. A rock slide starts with debris and rocks the size of bowling balls rolling down the wall onto the roadway all around you.

What can you do about it? Other than not be on your bike at that location at that time?

Over a million

I have over a million miles on two wheels. I started riding when I was 13. I have ridden most of Europe, the US, and North Africa. I have had two serious accidents. One was when a Simca taxi ran a stop sign in Rabat, Maroc, 1966. My BSA went through the Simca, severing the driver. I went over the handlebars and the Simca into some bushes. I almost lost my right thumb; but was otherwise OK. I am not certain that I could have avoided the accident. The second wreck happened in 2007 riding my R100RT on the Blue Ridge Parkway. I was going about 55 when I came around a curve on the Blue Ridge Parkway near Little Switzerland. There had been a rock slide and the rocks had been removed, but the sand and dirt caused me to slide off the mountain. I was going too fast, I was tired and I was cold. I broke 4 ribs and tore up a good bike; but I was able to finish my ride to Hot Springs, NC and nurse my wounds with a bottle of scotch. The most miles I have put on a single bike was over 300,000 on my 1961, R69S. I never even had a close call with that bike.

I do NOT use any "devices" when I am riding. No radio, no earphones, no phones; just the sound of the bike and the road bring me peace.

I have competed in trials, hill climbs and motocross. I have ridden when drunk, ridden stoned and ridden while severely injured. On none of those occasions, did I ever have an incident; just lucky in that regard.

The most dangerous thing about a motorcycle is the rider. I consider it sheer luck that I am still alive.

I guess I can serve as the "bad example".

Marchyman, I agree your instance is one of those with a high degree of "suddenly" in it. But, in the realm of most of our riding, those kinds of environmental factors are far less likely (well, maybe more likely in riding areas on the San Andreas fault) then the ones most of us encounter, and which we have a high degree of control on.

Perhaps my perception is a bit biased, being from Wisconsin, rockslides are not too common. But, here or there, interaction with traffic and car drivers IS a universal problem countrywide. Here is where "suddenly" is a common factor that us riders must prepare and adjust to constantly. If we don't, we are doomed to panic react, and in but few cases, panic reaction outcomes are mostly not good.

Another lame comment I do not accept is "I hadda lay the bike down!" What a crock, any rider who claims he hadda lay his bike down is lying to himself that he wasn't paying attention, was following too close, was in the wrong lane position, wasn't aware of the traffic conditions, didn't have good braking skills (tromp on the rear brake and "laid" the bike down, bs), etc. However, one instance I could see really laying the bike down, on purpose, is if I had lost attention/control and was heading to a cliff. Then, I "may" lay the bike down in hopes it goes over the cliff and I don't.

There are many great comments above. But I would like to add one more: When driving your automobile, drive it as defensively as you do your motorcycle. Keep those safe riding habits with you at all times. I think this is one of the reasons I have been able to remain accident-free since 1974.

stkmkt1 said:

There are many great comments above. But I would like to add one more: When driving your automobile, drive it as defensively as you do your motorcycle. Keep those safe riding habits with you at all times. I think this is one of the reasons I have been able to remain accident-free since 1974.

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Very good, and my policy exactly.

Harry

YES! EXACTLY! Just because our cars enclose us in a metal cage doesn't mean we should be any less of drivers than we are cycle riders. I have had many people riding in my car comment how they feel I sense traffic issues far before they become an issue. Or that I seem to sense what other drivers are doing.

Perhaps the many years of honing my cycle traffic skills have improved my car traffic skills as well.

So many miles

There are sooo many of us out here apparently with a LOT of miles. Good stuff. I truely hope all those with less miles catch up safe. I have never entered the mileage contest in the mag and suspect a ton of riders are in that category, unnoticed. Congrats to all that have been posted in the 'ON mileage recognition. I guess its coming up soon again. Never too many miles to learn something new. Always keep a fresh perspective, always learning and reminding yourself of the dangers as you ride along, smiling all the way. Randy

Skills and Attitude

Just bought my first Beemer but I rode the half-million on several Japanese bikes. What could I add that has not already been covered?

Start every ride with a reflection that it could be your last. You could die on any ride; acknowledge the risk.

Take some training courses. Surprise! I don't ride as well as I thought I did but I ride better after practicing with expert oversight. Also I didn't know about my bad habits.

Stay calm, stay calm, stay caLM, stay CALM, Stay CALM, DAMMIT! STAY CALM!!!!!

My mantra.....

Heed "NEAD": No egos, No attitudes, No distractions!!!!

I more than likely have more than a half a million miles but I never kept track of them until I got my first BMW. My first time I rode a motorcycle was in 1970 when I traded my 1965 GTO for a day and a half for a 90cc dirt bike. A buddy of mine at school needed a car for a date & we traded. The bike was almost brand new & he told me not to ride it on the freeway. When we traded back I had put just over 600 miles on it (all on city streets) between Friday afternoon & Saturday night. He wasn't very happy about the miles I had put on his new bike but I was hooked on riding motorcycles.

The only thing I can say about riding is PAY ATTENTION. The only two times I have gone down is when I ran out of talent entering a corner to fast. Both times I was able to ride away. The only thing I have ever hurt so far riding was my pride.

bdimon said:

Start every ride with a reflection that it could be your last. You could die on any ride; acknowledge the risk.

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I acknowledge this before every ride. Hence I never ride on my wife's or the four kid's birthdays. Figure that if the ride should go wrong, that would spoil their special days for a very long time. Haven't extended that rule to the grand kid's birthdays yet.

bdimon said:

Start every DAY with a reflection that it could be your last. You could die on any day; acknowledge the risk.

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Fixed that for you. Living's dangerous!

Voni
sMiling

Didn't own my first car til I was over 30. All those early years on bikes is what made me a good defensive driver though surviving the first few thousand miles had a bunch of luck attached whle I eventually figured out that I was invisible to everyone else.. Has kept me from denting my 4 wheeled stuff ever since....

+1 on that "any day" or ride. We had a rider killed nearby a couple days ago. 37 yrs old, wife and 2 kids, doing a short run with a friend from a nearby repair shop. Killed instantly when a 62 year old woman driving a van crossed the centerline with no warning (according to his friend following who was so shaken he had to be taken home by others) and hit him head on. She got cited only for misdemeanor death by motor vehicle and sustained only airbag scratches.

I never ride anywhere without a destination in mind...