Advocacy & Safety - Motorcycling and Bicycling

Motorcyclists, have you brought over anything from motorcycling that you care to note? Here are some things I brought over (mostly safety issues, I think):

1. wearing full-fingered gloves, always
2. intersection approach methoding
3. how to lean bike and body on curves
4. attaching importance to head gear and eye protection
5. how to modulate and distribute force on front and rear brakes, especially in emergency situations
6. keeping the bike clean, especially the chain
7. maintaining high visibility thru lighting, colored clothing, and reflectors
8. getting good tires, keeping them properly inflated, and trusting them on hard cornering
9. using mirrors
10. that it’s okay to have a stand on your bike

Use both brakes at the same time, same pressure.
Check your tires often for defects.

Seriously...I can descend like a rabbit and I feel motorcycling has taught me to feel the tires and learn the limits. I also feel that motorcycling taught me how to brake and how to use the Front brake. From a safety standpoint motorcycling taught me to always watch for drivers eye and to watch there front wheels to detect any movement that may clue me into them making a turn as they pass me.

Use both brakes at the same time, same pressure.
.

Disagree. Front brake can do something like 70% more braking than the rear so in turn can handle more lever pressure before lock up due to weight transfer

Disagree. Front brake can do something like 70% more braking than the rear so in turn can handle more lever pressure before lock up due to weight transfer
I use the front brake alone for routine stops. I use the rear brake to control my speed on long descents, and I do use both brakes together on slippery surfaces, such as gravel or a wet road.

I assume that everyone who can pull out in front of me will.

Visibility is critical for both motorcycling and bicycling.

Situational awareness. One of the things I learned from MSF was to constantly visualize worst-case scenarios and plan responses. I do that cycling as well.

Use ONLY the front brake, never use the rear except in very slippery conditions. Always have two fingers on the front brake at all times.

I really understood countersteering when riding a motorcycle. At speed, to overcome the huge gyroscopic forces, you have to wrestle the bars in the opposite direction to get the bike to turn. Countersteering is very subtle on a bicycle.

Lines going into corners. Late turn in, ONE decisive steering input to get you leaned over, another decisive steering to get the bike back up.

You can't accelerate through corners on a bicycle like you can on a motorcycle. Slow, Look, Lean and Coast worked for me after I lifted the rear tire off the ground trying to accelerate through a corner on the mountain bike. I also learned that motorcycles handle much better in the wet the hard way, but a lot of the other skills I learned motorcycling carried over to bicycling.

I will be switching from fingerless to full finger gloves soon, as it is getting cooler outside. I never thought of wearing full finger gloves in July when it's 90 degrees out. Maybe I'll start. I think people will look at me strangely, but thats never stopped me from adding safety gear to my bike before.

I'll add two more.

11) Fairings (windshields) add protection to motorcycles. I put fairings on some of my bicycles too.

12) Seat position. A custom bicycle is called a semi-recumbent if the seat is moved back ten or eleven inches. But the new geometry lessens the risk of the rider going over the handlebars.

http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q119/hotbike/00000024-1.jpg

http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q119/hotbike/00000024-4.jpg

http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q119/hotbike/photo018.jpg

http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q119/hotbike/photo022.jpg

In addition, the seat is blended into the frame, so nothing can get caught under the horn of the seat.

Motorcycle companies have had improved geometry for a looong long time. If a bicycle was motorized , and the geometry was still a bicycle, the rider would go over the handlebars quite easily. Motorcycle frame geometry is very important.

I've always wondered why bicycles don't have the front brake lever on the right side of the handlebars, like a motorcycle.

Only thing to add to that list is using larger vehicles as shields in intersections. A car may not yield to me,but it'll yield to the SUV I'm pacing. Motos also caused me to have a preference for messenger bags on my right shoulder,which seems to be the opposite of most folks.

One thing that messes me up going from the bicycle to the motorcycle;I'm so used to feeling the wind on my face on the bicycle that I forget to close the faceshield on my moto helmet. That plus the extra 600lbs of weight.:p

Motorcyclists, have you brought over anything from motorcycling that you care to note? Here are some things I brought over (mostly safety issues, I think):

1. wearing full-fingered gloves, always
2. intersection approach methoding
3. how to lean bike and body on curves
4. attaching importance to head gear and eye protection
5. how to modulate and distribute force on front and rear brakes, especially in emergency situations
6. keeping the bike clean, especially the chain
7. maintaining high visibility thru lighting, colored clothing, and reflectors
8. getting good tires, keeping them properly inflated, and trusting them on hard cornering
9. using mirrors
10. that it’s okay to have a stand on your bike

What a GREAT thread and I have found all the comments relevant and very helpful. I hoped all my cycling skills would transfer over to MOTORCYCLING. It took me a while to get used to using my feet for breaking and shifting...after all, on a bicycle there they are, right on your brake handles! But I got used to it. Columbus day weekend on its way and I plan to do some serious cycling AND motorcycling soon.

Learning to trust your tires and your balance through a lean took me time. I have a Honda 650 on-off road bike, and it is high with knobbies. Unless there is sand on the turn though, I can do a mean lean when I turn, and yes, it is nice to be able to accelerate through the turn once I see it is safe to do so.

I try and stay on country roads and roads similar to those where I would bike. "Blind" intersections in towns make me very nervous. So far, though, so good! I am tempted to just put a small ditty bag on the back and live on my bike full time, following the weather as the seasons change.

roughstuff

Only thing to add to that list is using larger vehicles as shields in intersections. A car may not yield to me,but it'll yield to the SUV I'm pacing. Motos also caused me to have a preference for messenger bags on my right shoulder,which seems to be the opposite of most folks.

One thing that messes me up going from the bicycle to the motorcycle;I'm so used to feeling the wind on my face on the bicycle that I forget to close the faceshield on my moto helmet. That plus the extra 600lbs of weight.:p


I like to keep my faceshield up, too...but sometimes the wind catches it and I end up shaking my helmet down like a hockey player who just got a solid boarding check. ;)

The weight took getting used to as well..cutting both ways in my case. Its a lighter bike than a road bike...so the wind and truck burbles can throw ya for a loop. But its heavier than a bicycle so I notice much more inertia and stability as I ride, as well.

On my first solo ride I ran over a squirrel and the little ******* got stuck in the knobbies of my rear tire. Arf! Good thing it wasn't a skunk.

roughstuff

Thinking with the mindset:

"ok, how could I die now? what about now? what about now?" and adjusting my riding accordingly.

Situational awareness. One of the things I learned from MSF was to constantly visualize worst-case scenarios and plan responses. I do that cycling as well.

Absolutely. I was already a long-term bicyclist before starting to motorcycle, so this hyperawareness of the street was well established. But the higher speeds of a motorcycle often require hyper-hyperawareness. I'm sometimes amazed that my husband doesn't see as much as I do when motorcycling together, but that's 'cause I'm on two wheels pretty much daily, through a city center. He also thinks that I'm a better motorcyclist than most other motorcyclists he knows b/c of my bike riding. The two modes of transportation really do complement one another.

- Also agree with the front brake for main stops, back brake for emergencies and control through corners. I do use both brakes however on my older (1970's era) bikes because they don't stop as well.

- And also the fitness level is higher when riding a bike so I can long haul my motorcycle for intense roads without become exhausted. Motorcycling is not passive as many new motorcyclists discover to their peril.

- Where your eyes look is where you go. Great for avoiding potholes and other situations that require split second decisions..."do not look at that curb..."

I'm in the, "cyclist-turned-motorcyclist" crowd. I'm loving it, and lots of cycling instincts transferred to motorcycling.

But the power is something else, something to be respected. There have been times I've been on the freeway, throttled to pass, and found myself absolutely flying in no time at all. It's the speed that's different. A bike can really pick up fast. Self-control, awareness, and planning ahead are what separate Death from Me.

Lay low on the throttle, anticipate ahead.

Look for pull-outs and left-turn cut-across drivers, especially at intersections.

Stay in a "clear zone." Buffer yourself with empty space. Stay out of blind spots.

Look over your shoulder to change lanes, even if it's clear in your mirror. Do it by habit.

Be visible and predictable. Avoid last-second decisions.

Don't try to run reds. Wait a sec before proceeding on green, there might be someone running the red.

Something else, I've noticed motorists act as if they are invincible, carrying on in their cars as if they are fully protected: tailgating in large groups, talking on cellphones instead of paying attention, etc. On my motorcycle, I act as if I can't afford to make a single mistake. I have to think for myself, and also for motorists.

But riding a bicycle is human power, and a motorcycle is a different animal in that respect. There are similarities, but it's still a motor-powered, and very fast. With higher speed, the bar is raised considerably.

Ride responsibly

Pete

EDIT: I wear armor protection and full-face helmet

I ride a lwb bent and find dragging the rear brake through a corner to load the front wheel as effective on it as it is in MX.

A bad habit I have from motorcycling is over estimating my ability on a bike to accelerate to get out of tight spots.

One thing I do when I ride a motorcycle is to look through peoples rear windows to see their profile. You can see if they're on a cell phone, if they are checking their mirrors in preparation for a lane change, how many people are in the car, possibly determine what sex the driver is (what assumptions you make of that are your own), etc. This is getting harder with darker window tinting becoming more common. I mainly did this while lane splitting on a motorcycle where I was on cars drivers side. On a bike most commonly I find myself on the cars right side which makes this more difficult, but I still use it for parked cars to hopefully assist in avoiding getting doored.