Don't stop too close behind a vehicle in a cue, especially facing down hill. They have a reverse gear, you don't!

Trying to drag a bike backwards, up-hill is no fun and they wont see you, the first thing they will know about it is when your bike is under the car/van/truck. Hopefully you managed to get off it!!

 

Ok, I'm seeing quite a few posts about remaining in first gear and I cannot 100% agree with them.
It's not a bad concept but there are times when it's not feasible or practical.
If you are between two cars (front and back) and there is say a lane of cars on your right and a median on your left, where the hell do you think you are going to go? Dart into an adjacent lane to possibly get nailed by another car? Into a median that might be on your left (if in left turning lane w/divider)?
For the one that said he narrowly avoided the overturning truck turning left into the oncoming lane, what if you had sped out of your own lane and got sideswiped by a car in the lane to your right, or went off in a ditch and crashed and messed yourself up just as bad? If you are stopped in the middle of traffic with cars on all sides (or high median on one side), you aren't going to be able to 'speed out' very easily.
I'm not saying it's useless by any means, but you have to have common sense about it.
So if you are going to preach 'stay in 1st gear', please include 'ensure your head is on a swivel whilst in first gear at a stop, and be fully aware of your surroundings'

 

Read a lot off good things here. Will be starting my riders edge course tomorrow, should have my license Tuesday and my 06 600rr should be dropped off to me Monday. I can't wait to start riding been waiting 11 years for this to happen. I will post pictures of the bike when I get it in the new member area.

 

Take it really easy ...really easy...

I don't know how folks go from no or little riding experience straight onto a 600...

when i first starting riding it was on a 125cc...and some of the mistakes id made on that made me realise how important it is to start off on a smaller cc bike...

just take it really easy for the entire first year until you have a much better idea of how the bike reacts under different circumstances...

i've been riding for a good few years now and the bike still does things at times that i didnt expect...


More No NO's

- if youre not sure which gear youre in...gear up rather than down to avoid the risk of rear lock...

- if you need to stop suddenly and are moving at speed....pump the brake on and off ..on and off...again to avoid lock / slide and getting thrown off...you may not have ABS system on your bike but this will create a similar effect...

- when a vehicle such as a slow moving lorry on the oncoming lane creates a blind spot for oncoming traffic...travel wide of the lorry in the lane you are in to avoid any prats from the oncoming lane attempting to take over the slow moving lorry blind...

- on a similar note - always ride on the part of the road that allows for greatest visibility and most space...

- ride in accordance with the surface you are riding on - observing road surface is almost if not as important as observing whats ahead of you...

- dont always try to get to the front of a traffic queue...especially when squeezing in between the queuing cars is going to **** fellow road users off

- use your horn...few riders actively use their horn - its the best way to alert others of your presence if a loud exhaust isnt your cup of tea (not that im a fan myself).

- if you decide to speed in 1st gear - dont forget the same way as a car jerks when you speed in first gear and come off the accelerator without shifting into 2nd...a bike will do the same...only in a car that jerking effect wont throw you off...so either shift up into second or clutch in to slow down before coming off the throttle (hope that makes sense).

- when you get on your bike...recognise before anything else - if you dont ride carefully this will be your last day on earth as you know it.


and may the good lord protect us all...

 

Good stuff here. I'll add a few:
Don't assume that a road you usually ride hasn't had gravel or something else introduced since last you rode it. Gravel and mud, etc can regularly get kicked out onto the road.

Don't forget about the dangerous hours for deer and other animals to be out. Dusk is probably the most common time for deer to decide it's time to jump in front of you. And where there's one deer, there will be more. I would have hit one recently had I not been watching for it...saw it just before it jumped and hit the brakes, barely missing it.

Don't put armor all on your seat or tires.

Dont ride with fat chicks on the back. It excessively wears your rear tire.

I know this is a "don't do" thread, but I'll add this:
Try finding a dirt bike and get offroad sometime. You really learn physics well like this for two wheels, lots of power, and braking.

Don't go into sharp turns in first with high RPM. 2nd will be more "mellow" many times than first...and most of our bikes will allow you to roll on in 2nd and accelerate just fine.

 

great post..thanks for contributing.


-Don't lane split,(unless your State/province allows it..)
and even then take the time to study proper lane-splitting techniques ..
avoid the "door prize"

 

Not sure if I am bring up a dead thread, after 4 month of riding on Ninja 250 and being a new CBR F4i owner, here are my observations.

-DO NOT follow too closely to the cars in front of you, this is not just for having too short reaction time for stopping, but also if you follow too close, you will unable to see traffics far ahead of you, and other cars are much more unlikely to see you as well.

-DO NOT focus only on the cars ahead of you, but constantly scan for the traffic far ahead of it as well, so you know how to react when time comes.

-DO NOT ride in parallel with other vehicles, a lot of cagers don't check their mirror when making lane change and you will get hit. Either let them stay ahead of you, or quickly pass them, and this it's also obvious that don't stay in cager's blind spot.

-DO NOT wear all dark clothing if you can, you are much more likely to not be seem by other vehicles, I know black gears are popular, but I personally wear high viz yellow shirt and white helmet.

-DO NOT speed up when passing intersection even if the light are green, let go of throttle or maintain speed, don't speed up, scan ahead, left front, right front when you come to intersection, because this is where most accident happens, when driver don't see you and violate your right of way, and be prepare for the worst and take evasive action on a moment notice.

-DO NOT panic when you drop the clutch when light turns green and your bike dies, stay calm, pop back to neutral, hit engine starter, kick to 1st and ride away, don't worry about the guy behind you, if you panic it might take you longer to get it up vs do things the normal pace and stay clam. (Yes, this happens to a lot of new riders, as well as new motorcycles)

 

all very good beginner's observations..nice addition to my old thread.
you sound like you will be a safe,happy rider.
thanks for your input,as it may help to educate other newer riders.
(and possibly help save lives..)

 

This is a resourceful thread. Respect due to the contributors of this thread.

 

Don't try to work on more than one riding technique at a time. Pick something specific to work on, work on that ONE thing and then move on to something else.

Don't wait too long to get some good quality rider training from a reputable riding school. Bad habits develop quickly and can be very hard to undue so get there sooner rather than later

Don't get too caught up listening to all the things you should or shouldn't do without really understanding the WHY and the HOW of the techniques in question. It's easy to say don't ride "crossed up" or don't lean the bike over too far but it's hard to do fix you understand WHY riding crossed up or leaning the bike over too far can be dangerous, and HOW you can solve the problem