I'm a total new rider, less than a year on a real bike but I have a few tips that I've found are useful.

1) When I'm at a red light, I always give plenty of space between myself and the car in front of me. I also don't put it in neutral unless traffic is stopped well behind me. When he was new, a good friend was sitting at a red light and heard unmistakable squeeling of tires and saw a Ford F-150 sliding right towards him in his lane. He said he was in neutral and didn't have room to move, so just held the brakes down and closed his eyes. The truck stopped less than a foot from the rear of his bike. Hold your hands 12 inches apart and think about that for a minute. Keep it in gear, and always give yourself space so you have room to blip between cars if you need to.

2) How do you appear to a cager? Since I've started riding I have began noticing when bikes appear and disappear in my mirrors. It's helped me to get a better understanding of when I am, and am not visible to a 4 wheeled vehicle.

3) Always know what is in front, behind and to your sides. There have been a couple times when a car suddenly lurched in to my lane, but because I constantly study what is around me I barely have to glance before dodging a certain collision.

4) This one bears constant repeating. ((((Leave your ego at home!)))) Some of the absolute best advice I ever received about riding was confidence is key in riding, but the moment you get cocky is when you are on the ground wondering what went wrong.

5) If you aren't prepared to fork over cash for quality riding gear, especially helmet and jacket then you shouldn't be on a bike. I think CrashKhan is a perfect example of this. He's a great rider, but a nasty accident he had he suffered very minor injuries because he was properly geared.

 

Let's keep this one going

http://www.motorcyclistonline.com/ho...ays/index.html

50 ways to save your life - hope it's not a repost in this thread.....[X(]

 

Can we add to this fellow riders?

 

watch where you put your feet/tires at stop signs and intersections......in the summer peoples a/c drips, theres coolant and oil aswell.....so keep an eye out.

make sure your shoe laces are tucked in, wonder why? wait till you try to come to a stop and your foot wont seem to touch the ground .

when riding in the rain/snow, remember smooth and steady is best. dont be choppy w/ the throttle and make sure you are extra gentle w/ the brakes.

i'll say again whats already been said b/c i feel its one of the best tips for riding......STAY OUT OF PEOPLES BLIND SPOTS! also think about what the back of tractor trailer's say........'if you cant see my mirrors, i cant see you' .

please dont take any passangers until you've gotten quite a few miles under your belt. i waited until i had 3k. dont try and take someone for a ride when you yourself are barely familiar w/ the machine you're riding.

when riding and you see a line of cars in the neighboring lane that are all tailgating one another, place your thumb over the horn and be prepared to honk. when cars are bumper to bumper like that 10 times out of 10 someones irritated w/ someone thats is going slow and they are ready to jump out of that lane!

when coming to a stop, flash your brake light. if someone behind you isnt paying attention, the flashing of your brake light may get their attention and save your ***.

when buying/wearing gear (ALWAYS gear up by the way. sweating beats bleeding)......make sure it fits you properly. loose gloves will do you no good what so ever if you find yourself sliding down the highway....they'll slide right off your hands.

if you find yourself riding in a complete downpour and visibility is extremely poor, ride down the shoulder or the center line and get to the front of the intersections. while lane splitting in damn near every state IS illegal.......i'd rather have a ticket than a funeral, and i'll be sure to tell the cop that. i feel you are much safer at the front of the line that in the back where people wont even see your taillight. again, i only do this in the worst of the worst visibility to make sure I MAKE IT to where im going safely.

while riding a motorcycle is extremely fun and sight-seeing while you're out and about is great..........dont glance away from your path of travel for TOO long........it only takes a split second for things to go very very wrong.

MSF class tip, 'always leave yourself an out'..........ALWAYS!

if you find yourself in a corner TOO fast, do not panic. remain calm and follow through and lean through. panicing can result in 'target fixation'.

MOST IMPORTANTLY.........HAVE FUN AND ENJOY!