500,000 miles, your safety ideas

[BCKRider]

If you have ridden this far in your lifetime, I'm requesting your ideas. (No, they don't have to all be on BMW's and you don't have to have done it without crashes. No requirement to doument the mileage.) If you are still riding with that or greater mileage, I suspect you know several things ALL OF US could benefit from.

This request for information in NO WAY implies any dis-respect for ANY riding classes. If you are a "riding coach" with this quantity of experience, please post.

My thought is that is these "lifetime high mileage riders" may have a good many things to teach us. So I thought I'd ask.

 

[AKsuited]

Doug, you might want to change that to 100,000 miles.

There can't be more than a dozen people or so in BMW MOA who have done 500,000 bike miles.

Harry

 

[henzilla]

MOA's list...Should be current, although Helen & I are missing ? we hit 100K BMW miles three summers ago I believe ( well she did first)
There are many at 100K...and quite a few at that 500K mark...then there's Voni and a few more!
http://www.bmwmoa.org/ridetour/mileage_awards/roll

 

[Darryl Cainey]

444,000 miles on One BMW 1977 R100RS

from 1968 - 1986 many other bikes with undocumented mileage.

Is that OK?

Advice: Don't look at an object on the road you are trying to miss. If you look at it , you will hit it!

 

[JoeDabbs]

200,000+ mostly commuter miles

 

[JoeDabbs]

Oh, advice...don't listen to music, or anything else that might make you daydream. Don't ride on marginal tires, as you never know when you might get caught in the rain. Dress for the weather. Being uncomfortable is a distraction akin to having a few drinks. These suggestions are for commuters, but some of them may apply to tourers.

 

[BC1100S]

In addition to what has already been posted and in no particular order...

- If you're dead tired - stop riding. I've learned from personal experience that it IS possible to fall asleep while riding - and I don't mean while riding as a passenger.

- ABS or Always Be Scanning. Be aware of what and who is around, in front, and behind you.

- Know your bike. If you know what it will do, and won't do, you'll be more prepared for any emergency evasive action you may need to take. Advanced riding courses are worth the time and money.

- Don't be an idiot. Very aggressive riding in traffic will only get you killed. Perhaps not immediately but eventually.

When I first started riding (just after the invention of the vulcanized tire) I had about 2 close calls per day. For the past many years I'd be hard pressed to recall 5 in total. Riding a bike made me a better car driver by learning how to ride defensively. Oh, I've fallen off my bike but they were all when I was young and stupid. Now, I'm not so young. Fortunately, I've never had an altercation with, or because of, a car.

There are dozens more tips from hundreds more riders. The big one for me is RIDE DEFENSIVELY.

Take care.

 

[BMW Triumphant]

Nowhere near even 100,000 miles on a bike, but from aviation:

"There are old pilots, and bold pilots, but there are no old, bold pilots."

Airplanes have unusal risks, but so do motorcycles.

 

[rad]

Math is hard.

I've been riding full time for the most part for 45 years. I'm sure I hit that mileage mark at some point; I just have never found it important to count the miles.

As for safe ideas: well, I must admit I've made it this far never getting hurt on a motorcycle by having decent skills, great gear, using pretty good judgment and ....this is a biggie, I've been lucky!

Chills still go down my spine when I think of the situations I have found myself in over the years, and nothing but dumb luck got me through it.

As is said "better lucky than good"

 

[Voni]

After 900,000 sMiles, Ken Tuvman wrote this about my accident free sMiles:

http://digital.turn-page.com/issue/20205/25

Now, after a Million, I guess I should be working on a book. I do know I tried on the idea of quitting, but it just doesn't fit.

Voni
sMiling

 

[39520]

....this is a biggie, I've been lucky!

Amen.

 

[advenbob]

Eliminate those items that have an impact on fatigue.

Noise - ear plugs are a must. Listening to wind and other noises for a few hours will really wear you down

Hot/Cold temps- dress for the weather. Too cold or too hot will present many different issues.

You are riding a 5-900 lb motorcycle. Do not try to take on a 4000 lb car/trk. You will loose. No road rage.

If you carry all the tools/parts needed for a roadside repair, most likely you will not need them. They bring good karma.

If you need to use those tools, make sure you know how to use them. Practice at home before you ride. Again, good karma

Know your bike and its limitations. Don't try to be a road racer on a full dress touring bike. Don't try to be a tourer on a road race bike.

Racked up over 700k on many different brands. 400+k on BMW's. Dropped a bike a few times, but only one accident. Riding since 1962

bob

 

[sedanman]

Here's my two cents. While it is a huge achievement to rack up half a million miles, there is NOTHING that says it takes that long to have good ideas. I think it is foolish to only solicit advice from such seasoned riders. You can learn much from a fool.

Wise men learn by other men's mistakes, fools by their own. --H. G. Bohn

Point being, even a rookie can have a good idea.

 

[BCKRider]

From OP - make that 200,000 miles

And a "guestimate" is just fine! I believe thoughtful low mileage riders (that's me) often have something to contribute to these discussions. Certainly MSF coaches and other riding instructors have a great deal of knowledge and make huge contributions to these discussions. Just thought the title might garner a few bits we've missed (or maybe just emphasize what these riders feel most important.)

Voni, thanks for the link to the article. (You and Paul were of course two people I thought of when I started the thread.) Now I've made it more inclusive.

Many good ideas so far. Keep them coming.

 

[rad]

Certainly MSF coaches and other riding instructors have a great deal of knowledge and make huge contributions to these discussions. .

Been doing that for over a decade also.

A quote I keep in mind and apply to all my activities that involve a good deal of risk, sea kayaking, bicycle riding and motorcycling, helps me stay within my skill set.

"A man who is not afraid of the sea will soon be drowned, he said, for he will be going out on a day he shouldn't. But we do be afraid of the sea, and we do only be drownded now and again."
John Millington Synge

I never let myself forget that no matter how good I ride, how good my bike and gear are, judgment is still the most important tool I have for staying safe.

The quote also never lets me forget that even doing everything right, I could still be "drownded"

 

[Paul_F]

I've only covered a little over a 100,000 miles since September 04, but I make a point at this time of year of re-reading David Hough's Proficient Motorcycling books and his Street Strategies. I credit his tips/knowledge to having kept me safe. I recommend his books and have even bought a set to give a nephew when he started riding.

 

[LuckyGrownup]

This obsession with a number is kind of funny too me. Not every mile counts if it is the same. So simply riding 500K safely doesn't make you a great rider. For example, if I was a rancher my commute to and from the ranch to the house might be 120 miles round trip. Also, the route might be a straight shot void of traffic from point A to point B. The route may be void of hills, and the only hazard might be the occasional wild animal. In some places in the Midwest, this hypothetical BMW riding rancher exists. So, a BMW riding rancher could rack up 24K miles in a year going in a straight line. In 25 years, they would have 500K on their trusty BMW. Would this make them a great rider ? What could you learn from someone that rode the same boring route everyday for 25 years ?

Also, I commute on my motorcycle. This year, I rode about 15K miles last year. But ever mile was repeated at least 150 times, so I remember every pot hole and surface imperfection. Although I have ridden, in hail, in snow, and in lots of rain, my riding terrain is very limited. My route is relatively flat. My millage is about 80% hwy riding, 5% city, and 15% two way road. So, my experience is really limited. I think good riders are people that ride in all conditions. Simply riding the same route everyday for 500K, doesn't make you a great rider.

 

[wecm31]

I have about 100,000 km on a few Hondas and one Airhead...

Fatigue...Its already been mentioned and for good reason. Like hypothermia, it can be especially dangerous because by the time you realize you are affected, your performance is already seriously downgraded.

I have had two unplanned get offs while transitioning from cruisin' to stoppin, both while tired. Zooming down the slab doesn't demand (require yes, demand no) a great deal of focus or action. But once you go to pull over and prepare to stop there is lots to do quickly. Twice I have failed to sharpen up fast enough and had oopsies while coming to a stop. Once on a rented HD in AZ was enough to break a leg, there's a day I'd like to have back

 

[ericthebald]

300K just on BMWs

Not to mention the other 30+ bikes between 1967 and 1983 when I first sipped the German Kool-Aid.
I expect I'm well past your threshold....

Never follow the with the ride, the other way around is fine.

Rider training works, repeat it every couple of years, if you feel like you don't need it anymore, sell your bike.

Always position yourself so you can be seen in other folk's mirrors, care or bike.

Practice your max braking, then practice some more.

They really ARE out to get you!

 

[marchyman]

In my less than 500K bike miles I think luck has kept me out of as many bad situations as anything else. Other than luck the biggest help is paying attention, i.e. keeping my focus on my riding. If for some reason I'm not paying attention when on the bike then I probably need even more luck.

How to you practice luck, anyway?