Everyone knows that riding a motorcycle is more dangerous than a car, and it is a good idea to take a motorcycle safety course before considering taking a bike out on the road. It will really teach you many things that you will never learn on your own after years of riding a bike, and these little things can really mean the difference between having a serious accident and maintaining a flawless road record. Here are some conflicting tips that can really help you with your driving.
1. Straighten before turning
When a cyclist turns a corner and something suddenly appears in his path, such as a large stone or a car, it is his typical instinct to immediately swerve to get out of the way. This often leads to a big problem, as correcting sharply or changing direction, even slightly, in a deep turn can easily lead to losing control of the bike and crashing into the ground.
Whenever you are in a curve and something sudden comes your way out of nowhere, your first move should be to slow down, straighten the bike, and then swerve the obstacle or pull onto the side of the road (if you can, get off the bike and remove obstacles in the road, to protect other drivers, but be careful if it is an especially blind corner).
It’s a good idea to practice this off-road, if you can; the more you do it, the more intuitive it becomes.
2. Look at the curves
Another thing about turning that is quite counterintuitive is that you always want to look inside your curves. In fact, you want to look deep into your curves. Many riders make the mistake of looking ahead or to either side of a curve, but what you want to do is look straight ahead and fix your eyes on where you want to go, even if it’s not in sight. This nifty hack will really surprise you when you find out that your bike goes exactly where you look like it is alone.
3. Don’t hug the shoulder
I’m a huge fan of defensive driving in any vehicle, and when you’re on a motorcycle, it’s normal to be extremely nervous about any other vehicle around. You should be.
But one case where many motorcyclists make a critical mistake is when they are on a fast moving road and are following closely, especially if there are a lot of aggressive drivers on the road. Many inexperienced drivers will hug the shoulder to allow other drivers to move and pass.
But, this is a mistake.
Hugging the shoulder in that way not only lets them pass, but encourages them to pass unsafe. And because it is on the side of the road, it is exposed to other hazards that could sneak up on you without warning, even when the aggressive driver passes the road. To make matters worse, any other driver coming up behind might not even see you because they were pulled over to the side.
Stay in the middle of the lane as if you were in a car. If the driver behind you becomes too aggressive, pull off the road at the next safe detour and then let him or her pass that way. Otherwise, they can use the passing lane like everyone else.
4. No sudden stops
Another danger on a motorcycle is stopping suddenly when we think we are about to have an accident, much like turning a curve. It is always instinct to stop when we are about to hit something. After all, the last thing we want to do is get it right. But the problem is that a vehicle with two wheels is much less stable and heavy on top, and suddenly grabbing the brakes at high speed often leads to a skid and then a fall. In some cases, it can even fly over the handlebars.
First of all, drive slowly and always be aware of what is happening. You must have a larger safety mattress than when driving a car. If a hazard appears out of nowhere, your best option is to slow down and take a different path of movement at the same time, moving away from or circling the threat.
Like I said before, a motorcycle training course can really go a long way when it comes to learning these counterintuitive little things that most motorcyclists never think of. In the meantime, keep a few of these tricks in mind and do your best to stay safe. And have fun!