I'm a Little Spooked

On my way home from work a couple weeks ago, the traffic stopped and when it finally resumed, I drove by a mangled bike with parts all over the road and the biker laying in the ditch hardly moving, and someone with her hand on his shoulder trying to comfort him until the medics arrived. I said a prayer for the fellow biker and said to myself, I gotta sell my bike.

This Spring it was the same scene at the red light where the traffic is crazy at rush hour on my way to work. A man laying on the cement and his busted up bike off on the shoulder. I avoid jumping on my bike at rush hour when everybody is nuts and running late with their cheeks puffed out and their eyes all wide...their coffee in their drink holder. eff..that! No, I prefer a nice country winding road between the deer crossing times of sunrise and sunset. But I'm no fool...I know that we can do everything right and still there's that chance of getting clocked by some driver who cuts their wheel and did not see us. I never knew the Harley philosophy that if you can't see us, then you're gonna HEAR us. Hence, the loud, loud presentation. Pretty cool, eh?

I have started wearing a flourescent yellow over my leather jacket to help being seen better.

What do you folks do for safety?

Well unfortunately, part of our world in riding, comes with the territory...

For me... Bright yellow mesh jacket with back & elbow protectors built in. Truly thinking chest protector as well for bouncing rocks but then again, I stay away from traffic especially large trucks as much as possible.

Even in this god for saken heat, gloves, helmet and non laced boots is a must... As my wife can contest, no helmet, no ride for passengers. That includes long pants & boots, preferably no laces.

And I'm always looking in my mirrors, too close I twist her & move. Not going to play who's the toughest with a car for I'd not win that one.

And I don't ever dive in & out between cars in traffic for there's just no way they will see you.

Take a break for awhile and when you're ready to ride again, go for a nice early morning weekend stroll with minimum traffic. The bug will hit you again why we choose this lifestyle.... Freedom

Ride as if invisible or as if all others are intentionally trying to hit me.

Loud colors and loud noise may help others to notice a motorcycle rider, not that it seems to always matter to them.

ATGATT (All the gear all the time)

Good Fortune!

I always gear up no matter how far I'm going and basically ride like everyone is out to kill me. I try to maintain a safe distance from other drivers and not ride next to cars if I can help it. I also try to stick to the back roads as much as possible. Not only is there less traffic but it make for a more enjoyable ride on my daily commute.

The loud pipes idea is played out, IMO. The majority of the wrecks come from the front of the rider while the sound is to the rear. Physics dictates that with the exhaust pointing rearward that not much sound will be directed forward. It's a false sense of safety, IMO. The conventional wisdom not withstanding, loud pipes are a sign of an attention whore.

Points to ponder.

ATGATT as already noted. A dew rag, psuedo leather vest with a white long sleeve shirt and assless chaps are not ATG!

Brush up on your skills either through an MSF refresher course or the books by David Hough (I should brush up too). Along with that keep your eyes moving and your head on a swivel. Leave plenty of space (not easy but do what you can). If a vehicle is in a left turn lane, expect a left turn!

Choose an alternate route, if possible.

Take nothing for granted and don't "drive" your bike.

N0NB wrote: The loud pipes idea is played out, IMO. The majority of the wrecks come from the front of the rider while the sound is to the rear. Physics dictates that with the exhaust pointing rearward that not much sound will be directed forward. It's a false sense of safety, IMO. The conventional wisdom not withstanding, loud pipes are a sign of an attention whore.

Points to ponder.

ATGATT as already noted. A dew rag, psuedo leather vest with a white long sleeve shirt and assless chaps are not ATG!

Brush up on your skills either through an MSF refresher course or the books by David Hough (I should brush up too). Along with that keep your eyes moving and your head on a swivel. Leave plenty of space (not easy but do what you can). If a vehicle is in a left turn lane, expect a left turn!

Choose an alternate route, if possible.

Take nothing for granted and don't "drive" your bike.

I agree with the whole loud pipes thing being played out. I have actually had drivers swerve into my lane because when I got next to them my bike startled them and it's not overly loud compared to some. It's running a V&H with comp baffle and gets drowned out by the majority of Harley's on the streets here. Here in Florida one of the main issues is the fact that there is a large population of seniors and a lot of them shouldn't be driving. Add to that the fact that most aren't from areas where motorcycles aren't on the road year round and when they are it's not in the numbers that they are here so they just simply don't look for them. Couple that with the idiots who can't seem to stay in their own lane because they are on their cell phones and it can be pretty nerve racking at times. That being said the closest calls I've had have all happened in the parking lot at Wal-Mart where sometimes it seems like everyone is driving with their eyes closed.

Most accidents could have been avoided most likely by careful riding. I watch some guys ride and wonder how long they will be around. Bad skills, no helmets, shorts, flip flops ect. I've always found out if I watch out for me, what others do really doesn't matter. Although it's horrible to see a fellow rider injured or killed, it doesn't effect my riding in the least. Accidents happen everyday whether you ride, drive, walk, take a bus, train. It doesn't matter. I enjoy highways, enjoy back roads too.

N0NB wrote: The loud pipes idea is played out, IMO. The majority of the wrecks come from the front of the rider while the sound is to the rear. Physics dictates that with the exhaust pointing rearward that not much sound will be directed forward. It's a false sense of safety, IMO. The conventional wisdom not withstanding, loud pipes are a sign of an attention whore.

Points to ponder.

ATGATT as already noted. A dew rag, psuedo leather vest with a white long sleeve shirt and assless chaps are not ATG!

Brush up on your skills either through an MSF refresher course or the books by David Hough (I should brush up too). Along with that keep your eyes moving and your head on a swivel. Leave plenty of space (not easy but do what you can). If a vehicle is in a left turn lane, expect a left turn!

Choose an alternate route, if possible.

Take nothing for granted and don't "drive" your bike.

I disagree with the loud pipes only being heard behind you. I run a star pro pipe, no baffle, and my riding buddies say they can hear me coming up on them with their helmets on. I also ride like everyone is trying to kill me. One nice thing about loud pipes is if somebody is on their phone texting and not really paying attention, I wait until their finished, get up next to their window, click second and gag the bitch, and subsequently blow out their fucking eardrums.

ride something that stands out in the crowd

andy9802gt wrote: I disagree with the loud pipes only being heard behind you. I run a star pro pipe, no baffle, and my riding buddies say they can hear me coming up on them with their helmets on. I also ride like everyone is trying to kill me. One nice thing about loud pipes is if somebody is on their phone texting and not really paying attention, I wait until their finished, get up next to their window, click second and gag the bitch, and subsequently blow out their fucking eardrums.

Physics are what they are. I agree that on another motorcycle you may be heard sooner but in a modern car/pickup with its soundproofing? Not a chance. Don't depend on your noise making anyone aware of your presence, that's the false sense of safety I was referring to above. Don't stay in blind spots for longer than needed to pass briskly. Some drivers just love to sit in another's blind spot for many inexplicable reasons. Don't be one of those. Your space cushion is the best safety item you have so make the best use of it. It's not your job to enforce inattentive driving laws, let the cops do that.

As for the rest, I don't see startling drivers, even when they're inattentive, as helping to make them aware of motorcycles in a positive way that they'll actively scan the roadway for bikes. What happens in reality is that it reinforces a negative stereotype of motorcycles and probably makes them care even less. If I recall correctly, there may even be some studies that came to that conclusion.

I look at the fact that there are many tourers out there on Gold Wings, BMWs, and such with stock exhausts and they pile on the miles year after year. This helps me lead to my conclusion that "loud pipes save lives" is a trumped up excuse among the V-twin crowd for justification of attention whoring.