Don't EVER ride on wet grass, even if you're going super slow and only have to cross a small section of your yard.


That is now why I have to spend 600-700 dollars on new plastics and a marker light.



If it's a really hot day, never set your kickstand down on asphalt or pavement without something under it. When the tar in the asphalt heats up, your kickstand will sink into it, and your bike will fall over.

Put a small piece of wood under it, or another popular option is to carry around a crushed soda can to put under it.



And another thing...if you ever lock up the rear tire under hard braking, stay on the brake until you come to a stop, otherwise you're likely to high side.

 

You should never lock up the rear wheel, or any wheel come to mention it. Roughly 70% front / 30% rear. The bike should ALWAYS be fully upright for hard (emergency?) braking, thus avoiding the high side. We are talking about the highways right?

EDIT: If a wheel does lock up, ease off the brake an re-apply. Braking should always be as gradient as possible, obviously in an emergency situation, this is going to be slim. In my opinion you should never ride faster than you can see ahead.

 

Obviously you're not supposed to lock up the brakes...

And if you lock up the rear, you stay on it until you stop, otherwise if your back tire falls out of alignment with your front tire, when it regains traction it will snap back into alignment, causing you to high side.

Same applies if your back tire loses traction altogether then quickly regains it.

 

DO NOT showoff for ppl of the opposite sex. Fastest way to lose a set of fairings. (even if you're just posing for a picture, LOL).

 

Don't ever think that it's too hot or that your ride is too slow/short for the right gear.

Going down hurts no matter where you're headed or how hot it is.

 

dont show off period...opposite sex or otherwise..i have come quite a ways since i created this thread,..5 bikes and thousands of miles later,after riding year round pretty much every day,i still have a LOT to learn...

do NOT park in the center of parking spots,but rather ,diagonally across the spot,thus keeping you rubber out of the oil stains which will rot your tires..
HOWEVER::this forces you to dismount into the oily areas so use caution dismounting.

do not corner aggressively on cold rubber.

DO NOT skip warmup or cut warmup time..leave five minutes earlier...
going super easy on the bike or riding with a bit of choke for the first 5 minutes of riding is NOT a good substitute. (your bike,and ultimately YOU will pay the price.) FIVE FULL MINUTES WARMUP!

do NOT gear down into first when traveling over 10 mph.

+1 on the kickstand on hot asphalt..this also applies to ANY asphalt,if your bike is going to be on the stand for extended periods of time,especially in underground parking lots where the asphalt is warm or oil-stained.

i'll check back in a few thousand more miles..
hopefully with a few more "do not do's" to add to the list..till then,
rubber down,shiny up!
ride safe and stay alive.
awol.

 

Seriously, if you are locking up the rear wheel when braking, you are braking wrong. With regards to the rear wheel stepping out from too much acceleration, its more forgiving if the bike is upright, if you are lent over, chances are you'll end up under a truck. Remember we are talking in the street riding section, not the track riding section.

 

If you lock up the rear. If*

Not "this is something that happens normally."

This thread is aimed towards riders with little experience, or none at all. I'm not assuming they know how to brake properly.

Staying on the brake until the bike is stopped if you *accidentally* lock the rear is in my state's motorcycle handbook and is taught in our MSF courses. No, you're not supposed to do it, but it can happen if you don't have enough seat time and you slam on both brakes during an emergency braking situation. I know firsthand, so I figured I'd share that nugget of information.

This is how it works. If the rear tire loses traction and slides, it can slide out of alignment with the front tire even if you're going straight. Since the rear follows the front, when the rear tire regains traction suddenly it will snap back into alignment with the front tire, and you can be thrown from the bike. aka 'high side' Which is why if you *do* for whatever reason lock up the rear with the brake, it is advisable to stay on the brake and keep it locked up until you come to a complete stop.

If you don't believe me, feel free to google it.

 

The intent behind this thread isn't to argue what's best for a new rider.

With that said, this is what is taught by the MSF. They teach new riders to leave the rear locked until they come to a stop. They also assume a new rider will lock either the front or the rear at some time during the riding career, hopefully during their class in the low speed controlled environ.

 

Don't ride faster than you can see to stop at night - this is especially the time when you should be at the speed limit.

If something darts out onto the road you won't catch it in the headlights until it's too late to stop for it. If you're rolling up on Johnny Law, you won't see his reflective stickers until he's got you on the rear-facing radar.

Night-time is the right-time for THE SPEED LIMIT. Respect the power you have under the right hand by using your maturity and sense of good judgement.