How to ride a motorcycle on street and live and have fun.
Defense
1) Always pay attention to where you are and who is around you.
2) Always pay attention to intersections, i.e. roads that will intersect with yours.
3) Always try to head check left or right depending on lane position before travelling through an intersection so you can manuever in your lane to make you more visible and provide an escape route.
4) Always try to maintain the greatest visibility of the road in front of you.
6) Always head check before changing lanes, or doing anything stupid. Mirrors are a necessary evil and lead to very bad habits, and I profess a lot of accidents!
7) Always know you will make someone upset with agressive maneuvers.
8) Never physically piss someone off, i.e. the finger, slapped mirror, etc.
9) Never get in front of someone you have pissed off and ride slow - just keep going and even pick up the pace to get away from them.
10) Never confront someone you have pissed off. A car will ALWAYS defeat a bike in a physical altercation.
11) If you feel uncomfortable in any situation, the best defense is a good offense.
Offense
1) Ride agressively, stay 5 to 10 mph above flow of traffic (5mph is what most US states recommend.)
2) Do not let yourself become surrounded in a wolf pack, get out as soon as the safest opportunity presents.
3) Accelerate when changing lanes, always assume the person in the lane you want is going faster than you.
4) Change lanes to make yourself more visible as necessary.
5) Same as defense, always head check before making any sudden move.
Edit to Add: The street is impossible to master, the variables involved are too great, but each of us as individuals can boost our own safety and security by maintaining a superior skillset. A skillset not just on street, but in connecting with people. For example, when I pass through intersections with a vehicle waiting to turn in my path, I give them a wave. A thank you for seeing me, and waiting for me. They love this - trust me.
Defense
1) Always pay attention to where you are and who is around you.
2) Always pay attention to intersections, i.e. roads that will intersect with yours.
3) Always try to head check left or right depending on lane position before travelling through an intersection so you can manuever in your lane to make you more visible and provide an escape route.
4) Always try to maintain the greatest visibility of the road in front of you.
6) Always head check before changing lanes, or doing anything stupid. Mirrors are a necessary evil and lead to very bad habits, and I profess a lot of accidents!
7) Always know you will make someone upset with agressive maneuvers.
8) Never physically piss someone off, i.e. the finger, slapped mirror, etc.
9) Never get in front of someone you have pissed off and ride slow - just keep going and even pick up the pace to get away from them.
10) Never confront someone you have pissed off. A car will ALWAYS defeat a bike in a physical altercation.
11) If you feel uncomfortable in any situation, the best defense is a good offense.
Offense
1) Ride agressively, stay 5 to 10 mph above flow of traffic (5mph is what most US states recommend.)
2) Do not let yourself become surrounded in a wolf pack, get out as soon as the safest opportunity presents.
3) Accelerate when changing lanes, always assume the person in the lane you want is going faster than you.
4) Change lanes to make yourself more visible as necessary.
5) Same as defense, always head check before making any sudden move.
Edit to Add: The street is impossible to master, the variables involved are too great, but each of us as individuals can boost our own safety and security by maintaining a superior skillset. A skillset not just on street, but in connecting with people. For example, when I pass through intersections with a vehicle waiting to turn in my path, I give them a wave. A thank you for seeing me, and waiting for me. They love this - trust me.
