So Funny I did this yesterday felt like such a ***...

 

Not one just for newbies as we have ALL done this at sometime...

Remove your lock/chain/disc lock BEFORE trying to ride off

 

Do not check out that HOT girl...concentrate on the road bro....LOL...seriously until your confident.

 

1. Do not park your bike heads in, unless pavement is level.

2. (usa only) Do not ride closest to the right, on the right hand lane. Even if your intention is to make a right hand turn on the coming I intersection. Always stay in the middle of street/ most viewable position/ second lane/left lane/ left side. Then make your move when near intersection.

3. Do not expect/believe any drivers able to sees you. Make yourself viewable by other drivers.

4. Do not ride with OEM silencer exhaust. Get the loudest exhaust possible. Drivers will not be able to hear your horn??? Loud pipes saves lifes...make drivers hear you coming.

As for driving skills...take you time and get your experience... Words cannot express too much. Learn your gears, take your time. My only advise is

Alert Right foot-Rear brake/ left hand clutch-down shifting for speed control/ right hand- front brake.....

 

Never do this!!! A front stand by itself is asking for the bike to be unstable and fall over! Always use a rear stand in conjunction.

Oh, and don't crash.

 

This is also ridiculous. Just because they can hear you doesn't mean they can see you. A prepared, defensive rider is far more beneficial than the loudest exhaust.

 

You have your point of view. I have mine but don't say it's ridiculous bro... I rather have drivers see us (who wouldn't) but if they don't, at the least hear us coming. Who doesn't know defensive riding is key.. Can you define what is your definition of defensive riding? A loud pipe is also defensive driving without any effort. I've been riding for 20+ years bro...have you not EVER heard of loud pipes save life.

 

I just want to say that even though they will hear the pipe, they still won't know where the hell you are! I see it all the time. They'll hear my, not obnoxious but not whisper quiet Micron, exhaust and look around to see where the hell it's coming from. It's almost as bad as the not hearing you at all. It does seem to help when filtering but that's pretty much it.

Ever heard a siren and then looked around to try to figure out where it was coming from?

Nobody wants to ride with 'the guy with the obnoxious loud bike' either. Just saying. I don't think it's good advice to tell a new rider to get the loudest thing available.

 

Ok I was rather conflicted on what to do here because I didn't want my personal opinion to influence my ability to moderate posts in this thread. Because of that I chose to let the "points of view" on loud pipes stand.

My personal opinion is that loud pipes don't do chit except annoy people and that the only people that actually hear them AND associate them with a motorcycle are other riders. It's in our nature to look for the bike making that sound to eye hump it a bit, critique the rider's ability, check out their gear, ect. Non-riders however do not give pipes the same attention we do. And usually the attention they do give loud exhausts is negative, sometimes bordering on loathing. Most importantly, situational awareness and good defensive riding skills cost $0. And those are skills ALL riders need long before they go buy a pipe to rely on to save their ***. Now that's my personal opinion.

This is my moderator opinion:
The loud pipes topic has been argued in several threads already. It will not be rehash here and derail a good thread for new riders. Any further arguments concerning loud pipes will be deleted from this thread. Feel free to open a civil discussion elsewhere if you want to continue the debate. But not in How To: Street Skills

 

This one seems like a BIG BIG BIG NO NO (being in neutral at a light)! If you are in neutral, you can't accelerate out of the way of danger! NEVER should you be in neutral when on the road!

How about:
7) Don't forget to shift in 1st gear when approaching a stop light and just hold the clutch while waiting for the light. IT COULD SAVE YOUR LIFE!


I'm speaking from first hand experience here on this one, not from a bike but from a car. I was sitting at a light in my Camaro one time and a big truck making a turn overshot the turn (going to fast) and came at me. Fortunately I was paying attention and had the tranny in 1st gear. I dumped the clutch, went WOT, and launched out of the way. The truck came to rest on its side where I had been sitting.

. . . so.....