Just one of those things that pop in my head during morning coffee. What do you think is the most important thing to riding safely and well? What influences things the most?

 

I voted skill.

I can hang with people who have faster bikes than me, but I also have a friend who has an 99 katana 600 and can almost out-ride me, so equipment is not a big factor to me.

Knowledge - I know how to ride great, I just need much more practice. Knowing how to ride is great, but it isn't enough.

Courage - Just seems wrong to me, A brave person who doesn't have the skill can put themselves in dangerous positions pretty quickly on a bike.

 

Itis a hard one to answer because it depends on what type of rider your talking about? A fresh noob with a beginners permit or some one with experience.

For a noob I would say gear, due to lack of experience.

For a rider that has the basics down I would say knowledge because you kind of know what to look for when driving in heavier traffic as to who's around you and how to anticipate what others are going to do.

For the more experienced rider skill will get you out of bad situations by not having to tink about what your doing before you do it but just reacting and knowing your limits and when the can be pushed.

And you can't see the full capabilities of your bike and skill (legally) until you have the courage to take your bike to the track

Just my

 

I assume by equipment you mean things other than the bike itself? Helmet, jacket, boots, etc. Without this stuff everything else is useless. I don't care how big your ***** are or how much you know/good you are, if you don't have enough equipment on to feel safe, you won't ride to the best of your ability. You won't be comfortable enough to push the envelope.

 

skill is the most important..

 

It's always going to be skill, whether you've just started riding or earn your living as a racer. Skill skill skill. The more you have the safer you're going to be.
If I had to truely answer the whole question it would be a combination of all of the above and more but Kuro, for the sake of this pole there's no way any of the other options outrank skill.
Riding on two wheels is a skill in its self, just staying upright.
Dress a two year old in all the gear you like, give him/her satnav, a top of the range helmet, heated underpants...... but take the training wheels off they'll probably fall off that little kiddie bike, due to lack of the most basic SKILL, from which point we all progress.

 

I'm going to have to say Henry and Jeff both have very good points in each perspective. very interesting thread! I also thought skill first after opening and reading the topic.

 

I would vote for one you don't have: Judgement.

All the skill in the world won't save you if you're foolish enough not to leave yourself an adequate safety margin on an unfamiliar road or when surrounded by distracted drivers, etc.

At the end of the movie "Faster," Valentino Rossi is talking, and he says that he doesn't ride on the street because it's too dangerous and unpredictable. Most of us won't go that far, but if possibly the most skilled rider in history feels his skills aren't enough to keep him safe on public streets, that should tell you something.

 

Well for the people saying skill, how can you acquire it without the other three?

Bad gear / bike in poor condition, you're likely to kill yourself before you get any skill.

You have to know what you need to do before you can do it. Skill is knowledge made reality.

And courage... I know a guy who's afraid to lean into turns. Any turns. After a year of riding, he drops below 20 mph for every turn. What stunter is any good without the ability to say "**** it!"? At the track, who takes the turn? The rider willing to ride closest to the edge of losing it.

 

Fixed