What do people say after a crash?  ”That car just stopped for no reason!”  ”The gravel made me crash!”  ”That crazy driver just cut me off!”  Now if that’s ever happened to you, I’m not disagreeing with you.  And I’m not saying that your crash was your “fault” if a car cuts you off or drives into your lane…  But there might be a different and helpful way to think about this…  In aviation they always emphasize that an accident is never the result of just one thing, it’s the combination of a number of risk factors that combined to make the perfect storm for your accident.

So the accident didn’t JUST happen because the car slammed on its brakes for no apparent reason. It was (the car slams on brakes) + (you were too close) + (you were distracted) + (road surface was not ideal for braking) = your accident.  Or something like that…  If you were to take away one or two of these variables…if the car didn’t brake, then you wouldn’t have had an accident.  But also, if you weren’t so close, or so distracted, the accident wouldn’t have happened either.

If you look at every accident from this perspective, it can change your attitude about crashes.  Yes accidents DO happen…BUT, no accident ever NEEDS to happen.  Unless a bridge collapses or a meteor hits you, just about any accident can be avoided.  When you’re dirt riding or going to the track and pushing the limits, crashes are part of the course.  But on the street, crashes never actually need to happen…

Here’s my logic spelled out: IF crashes were just random occurrences out of your control, THEN there would be no avoiding them, they’re just a part of life.  But IF crashes are the result of a number of risk factors combined into an accident’s “perfect storm”, THEN it is 100% possible for you to avoid any particular accident by dealing with the variables in your control.  If you were in an accident on the street, it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s your “fault” – but it does mean that if you made certain choices you could have avoided the accident altogether.  So you can figure out what those choices were, and take it as a learning experience…

Is that a new idea to you?  Tell me what you think!

In the meantime, here’s a list of some possible risk factors that can combine to form an accident:

• Poor road surface (e.g., potholes)
• Speed (too fast or too slow)
• Too close to another vehicle (less than 2 seconds of distance)
• Traction (oil, gravel, water, dirt, ice)
• Equipment problem
• Steep lean angle
• Being mentally tired or distracted

None of these things are a problem by themselves… You can handle a pothole.  But you probably can’t handle a pothole while going too fast two inches behind a car while cornering over gravel after 2 hours sleep…

Related posts:

1. Moto-Myths 3: You are going to Crash
2. Crash Analysis
3. Wacky Citybikers

The good news about finding a good helmet is that there are many types to choose from, many brands, and therefore one that will offer great protection and comfort in the style you want.  The bad news is that it can get complicated figuring out which is right for you…  So here’s a little guide to help untangle all the information out there…

Why bother?  In some studies, 80% of all motorcycle fatalities (in 2006) were due to head injuries.  Your helmet is the most important safety device you wear!  So for this post I want to talk about full faced helmets because they give you more protection than the open faced kind – and because even if you prefer an open faced helmet around town, every rider (even scooter riders) should at least own a full faced helmet for higher speed rides.

Of course a helmet should fit right…and having a cool looking helmet will make you go faster and safer (no not really). But other than that there are three or four certifications you need to be aware of… Let’s untangle those and you will know everything you need to know about motorcycle helmets…

First there is the DOT standard, technically known as the FMVSS 218 (Federal Motor Vehicle 218).  This is the minimum standard of helmet protection required by the US government.  In order to be legal for use on the road, a helmet has to be DOT approved.  The way you know is there is a sticker on the back of every DOT approved helmet.  And although it is a minimum requirement for helmets, it’s proven to be a good standard.  Now if helmet certifications stopped here, life would be simple…

Second there is the ECE 22.05 standard.  This is the “Economic Community of Europe” standard for helmets similar to the DOT.  But the ECE 22.05 tests helmets at higher speeds so that it’s a harder test for a helmet to pass.  The bottom line is: all ECE 22.05 helmets pass the DOT standard (but not the other way around), and it tests for a higher level of safety.  So if you could choose between an ECE (and DOT) approved helmet or a helmet that’s only DOT approved, the ECE helmet is the one to go with.

Third there is the SNELL M2005 and the newer M2010… These were developed for “high performance” helmets to guarantee the highest level of safety possible from a helmet… One of the features of their “more rigorous” testing was the helmet would have to be able to take two impacts to the same spot in order to pass.  Many DOT (and ECE) approved helmets would not be able to absorb a second blow at high speeds.  The result is that SNELL helmets would have to be harder and absorb less impact in order to survive two impacts.

Although this sounded like a good idea at first, studies have found that SNELL helmets don’t offer good levels of protection – mainly because they expose the head to too many g-forces.  ”Softer,” DOT-only helmets provided greater protection because they absorbed more of the impact and transmitted fewer g-forces.  In addition the way SNELL tested helmets (assuming everyone’s head weighed the same, rather than assuming smaller heads would weigh less) meant that even greater g-forces would be passed on to wearers of smaller sizes.

As a result people like Hugh Hurt (of the Hurt Report), James Newman (former director of the Snell Foundation), no longer think the SNELL certification is a good one.  So recently Snell issued a new standard (the M2010) allowing for “softer” helmets in order to pass the minimum g-force requirements of the ECE 22.05 standard.  The word is not in yet on whether this new 2010 standard is any better…

Are you thoroughly confused yet?  The bottom line for me is: DOT and ECE 22.05 = good…  DOT and SNELL = either bad or questionable (in the case of the newer 2010 Snell standard).  Unfortunately for some track day riders, some tracks (like Laguna Seca) still require SNELL rated helmets… In which case, I’d recommend doing your best to get a newer M2010 Snell rated helmet.

ONE MORE FOR THE ROAD…SHARP Helmet Rating System: And we saved the best for last.  In the UK there is an even newer helmet rating system.  It differs from all the others in that it doesn’t just give pass or fail, but 1 to 5 star ratings…  It also tests for different kinds of impacts to different parts of the helmet, in all its helmet sizes, using different sized (and weighted) dummy heads.  You can pretty much guess what I personally think of this helmet system (hint: the link is to the right).  The down side to this rating system is that it’s UK based so not all the helmets they test are available in the US – and vice versa.  Some helmets, like some HJC helmets, have different model numbers in the UK…but others just aren’t available or hard to find.  But their list of tested helmets is growing every month.  And we’ve mentioned it before on this blog, the highest rated helmets are not always the most expensive – and some of the most expensive helmets (ahem Arai-Shoei) don’t get five stars… Which means there’s really no reason your next helmet shouldn’t have a four or five star rating…

Hope that helps!

Related posts:

1. SHARP Helmet Ratings
2. Moto-Myth #4: An $800 head?
3. Time for an open faced helmet?

It’s rain and wet leaves season over here in NY. Or maybe it’s just been a long day. If you’ve ever been in a fall on a slippery surface, you know how quickly it can happen, and how bewildering it can be… But in 20/20 hindsight, there are always ways to either avoid the crash or avoid the circumstances that led to the crash. So here are a few slippery road tips for the Fall riding season.

Tip #1 – Slow down. Duh. Obviously this guy on the video was a good enough rider and familiar enough with this bridge that he pushed his speed a bit. But in hindsight it was a bit too fast for the weather. He would have been fine (probably) if he were going just 5 mph slower.

Tip#2 – Keep it straight. A motorcycle is remarkably stable when it is in motion going straight. Don’t try to turn on slippery surfaces like manhole covers and steel plates. Turn only on clean looking asphalt. A good part of road riding is being able to judge road surface and traction…

Tip #3 – Keep it vertical (as much as you can). Even in a turn, a motorcycle in motion is remarkably stable as long as there isn’t too much lean angle. If the front or both wheels slide a bit, the lean angle increases but actually maintains the line you turned into.

Tip #4 – Keep loose on the bars. It’s natural as the road get slippery to tense up – but that’s the last thing you want to do. In a turn, front wheel slides, rear wheel slides, are both self correcting but only as long as you let the bars do what it wants to do (rather than fighting it). If the rear wheel slides to the right, the bars will automatically compensate by turning right, but only as long as you’re not fighting it. A death grip on the bars will turn a rear wheel slide into a crash.

Tip #5 – Gas it to neutral. Neutral is the best gear to be in when going straight over a slippery patch or ice or snow… But rather than pulling the clutch lever, it’s better to crack the throttle open just a little bit to keep the engine from pulling back. You can use the rear wheel and throttle to gauge the available traction… similar to what people do coming to a stop with the rear brake.

Got any other slippery road tips?  Share the wealth, post them in the comments!

Related posts:

1. Riding thru Slippery Stuff
2. Wiggle Room
3. Why people think you have to fall…

The track guru Keith Code is often heard saying: ‘I’ve asked loads of racers if they’ve ever quick-turned a bike fast enough to crash, and no one has…’  What this means is that when it comes to the point on the road you need to turn, you can really push that handlebar…hard, and get it leaned over fast.  That’s what professional racers are exceptionally good at (although you can’t tell so much on tv).  In person, they drop the bike over so quickly it looks like they’ll hit the ground.

But there’s a qualifier: You can’t turn a bike so fast that you’ll crash… provided the road is dry (not wet), and clean…

Here, it appears that some debris on the road happened to be at the exact same point where the front wheel began the turn-in…  Everything that followed happened in a split second.

Afterwards Rossi painted a donkey on his helmet admitting he messed up.  His mistake is one that regular mere-mortal riders make all the time at intersections: initiating a turn when the front wheel is compromised…  Such as turning-in while the front wheel is on top of a man hole cover, or one of those steel construction plates, or on top of dirt or ice, or on a grease strip while it’s raining.  It only takes a couple of square inches of slippery stuff to cause a crash at turn-in.  And when it happens, it often happens so quick it’s over before you realized anything happened.

This is why many street riding courses teach you to stay clear of manhole covers just as a matter of habit.  Steer clear of them even when you’re going straight, so that you’ll be on the watch for them if you ever need to turn on short notice.  Probably a good idea.

Anyway, ride safe and enjoy your ride!

Related posts:

1. Slippery when wet…
2. What does it mean to look ahead?
3. Riding Skills: Keep Your Head Up

Here’s a nice ride video by Doc Wong, whom I’ve never met, but does helpful riding clinics over on the left coast.  If it’s too hot to ride for you in NY (it is for me) then maybe this will put you in the mood.  Also notice his lane positioning: how he uses all of the lane, and gets quite close to the center line and outside line, but notice when he does that in the curve…  If you look further along the road notice how his lane position gives him the best view he can get of what’s coming ahead.  Count how many seconds ahead you can see ahead as a result of his lane positioning: usually around 4 seconds, but at least 3 even on the tight turns – and that’s on a fixed camera that can’t turn its head! In actuality he’s probably getting 4-5 seconds of visibility even on the turns. That’s enough time to straighten up and come to a complete stop from over 60mph. How does he do that? Mainly through lane positioning. Notice where he has to begin and end his turns in order to get that view.

See you’re not just just killing time and daydreaming here, you’re helping improve your riding skill.  Go figure!  Cheers!

Related posts:

1. Riding Tips: Road Positioning in the City
2. Road Positioning
3. Riding Skills: An Exit Strategy

It’s amazing how what we normally tend to do is almost always wrong on a motorcycle… this is part of what makes motorcycling so interesting.  In diagram #1 I tried to draw what most of us (tend to, want to) do on a long curved road going left…we hug the inside line.  The problem is one out of every dozen or so times doing this you’ll get surprised by a car coming in the other direction hugging that center line, or even crossing it.  Not only that, if you’re going at speed, you can be leaned over far enough so that even though your tires are in the middle of your lane your head is in oncoming traffic.  So here’s a better plan…

Left hand curves

Diagram #2

Any experienced biker will tell you to hug the lane that’s away from oncoming traffic. I want to add to that a little bit. This diagram is for right hand roads, if you’re in Japan or the UK or Australia, here’s a left hand version.  What you need to know is, the bike is upright (you’re not really “turning in”) until you hit Point B…  So at point A you’ve slowed down and can see what’s in the middle of the turn but you can’t see what’s at the other end of the turn.  When you get to point B you can see through the whole turn.  At that point you can lean it over and make your line as close to or far from the center line as you want until you straighten it up (point C).

Why break up the turn into three parts?  Why not say you just hug the outside line?  Because you can hug the outside line and wind up with an emergency situation (e.g. stopped cars you didn’t see at the beginning of the turn, animals, rocks and gravel, dirt, etc)… At point A you don’t have enough information to commit to a real turn…even if it’s near the outside line.  So at point you need to be at a speed where the bike is still pretty much vertical (and not committed to a particular trajectory – you have fewer options once you’re leaned over), setting your speed (maybe even speeding up a little) for the real turn point “B”.

Right hand curves

So what about right hand curves (on US roads)?  Can we do it the same way?  Probably not a good idea, because that would put your turn points too close to the center line…

Diagram #3

Instead you can do what’s called a late apex turn, or what I recommend is to do a late apex turn that “squares off” a long right hand curve.  Here you can make 2 sharper turns.  As you approach point “A” you can see what’s coming out of the turn in the other direction, and you want to set your turn point as close to the center line as the traffic will allow (as long as there’s nothing coming the other way).  Why so close to the center line?  Because it will give you the best view of what’s in the middle of the curve… and your line approaching point “B” will keep you away from the center line (and the danger zone).  At point “A” you can make a sharp turn and straighten out until you get to point “B”, at which point you can see entirely past the curve, sharp turn once more and you’re through!

For shorter curves you can simply do a late-apex turn: basically the same as diagram #3 but instead of making two turns, you can turn once at point “A” and run a closer to the right edge of the road.  [The point of staying wide and making a second turn in a long curve is to be able to see ahead...mainly what's in your lane].

Anyway there are other ways to get around long curves…  so this is just my two cents.

What’s your cornering plan on curved two-way roads?  Let us know!

Related posts:

1. Riding Tips: Road Positioning in the City
2. Cruising on the open road…
3. Riding to Alice’s Restaurant

People talk about warming up the tires…but for much of the year (in the north east) the tires never really get fully warmed up in City riding (you’re just not going fast enough to keep the tire temp up).  It’s different in the summer though.  Not only do your tires get up to speed after a few miles, but the asphalt is piping hot after long days of soaking up UV rays.  It’s the super-traction time of year: whether you’re braking or acceleration or corning, all the sticky goodness of your tires are available for thrashing.  And if you’re anything like me, this sometimes brings certain temptations.  Like the temptation to really get on the gas in a corner…

The main way newer riders drop their bikes is by forgetting to straighten out during hard barking.  Or coming to a full stop with the bars slightly turned.  Intermediate riders tend to crash their bikes in corners: you get into a corner too slow, and since you could have gone much faster you start to gas it…  Experienced bikers make a mental note and remind themselves the next time that they can do the turn a little bit faster.  Less-experienced bikers (like me!) have to fight the urge to try to increase corner speed by applying more throttle.  So fight your inner squid and remember: lean + heavy throttle can equal trouble!  You set your corner speed before leaning into the turn, not after.  Cheers!

Related posts:

1. Bad Turning Habits
2. Going Fast…
3. Crash Analysis

You’ve seen people do it: yapping away on cell phones while driving out of lane, or texting while cruising in traffic.  In a culture that thinks of automobiles as living rooms, I don’t think any law is going to stop people from doing it.  So what can you do to keep your ride bumper free?  Well if you have some city-biking experience, you’re already more attentive to traffic than 99% of the drivers on the road.  You see cars swerving or driving irratically and steer clear of them…  You also keep ahead of the flow of traffic and practice good mojo techniques.  But there’s a new danger for motorcyclists posed by drivers who are texting…

The newest danger is: Being hit from the rear while stopped at a light or stopped in traffic.  Previously this was the least likely danger for motorcyclists, but the level of inattentiveness caused by cell phones makes it more likely (and more costly).  Rear end collisions in the past have been problems of poor traction or braking too late; the rear end collisions caused by texting don’t involve much braking at all.   On local roads where traffic moves briskly, until there is a car stopped behind you, you may be at risk.  This is not so much of an issue in Manhattan, but on faster local roads, and highway congestion the number of rear end collisions seems to be (from anecdotal evidence) rising.

So what can you do?  When you’re coming to a stop, check your mirrors.  Normally the mirrors should be positioned to give you a view of the lanes next to you, so that you can see into the blind spot (the area you can’t see by turning your head).  I think that’s probably the best thing to do.  So instead of trying to position the mirrors to see the lane behind you (which is almost impossible on sportbikes) you can position the bike on an angle when coming to a stop.  Not only does this give you a better view of the lane behind you, it makes you more visible (wider from behind) and points you in the direction of an escape route should you need it.

Got a tip? Post it in the comments!

Here’s another vid you might have seen. Doesn’t involve cell phones, but the driver was probably distracted, and the motorcyclist wasn’t aware of what was coming behind him.

Related posts:

1. Top Four Gotcha Moves
2. Who Shouldn’t Ride
3. Road Positioning

One of my favorite parts of the BARF site (there’s a link on the lower right) is the “Crash Analysis.” So in that spirit…here’s a guy who was good enough to document his crash on Youtube. Let’s first say that he’s obviously a skilled and experienced rider, and that’s a big part of why he could just get up and walk away from this. It would have been a different story if there was a car coming in the other lane or if he wasn’t wearing proper gear…

Having said that he blames the lowside on his fixed and lowered foot pegs (the kind that don’t fold up).  But it seems like there were at least two other crucial and common mistakes (that experienced riders make)… And since he was good enough to film his crash, why not learn from it?

Instead of me telling you, why don’t you tell me: what did he (possibly) do wrong here?  What kinds of things should more experienced riders look out for?  Cheers!

Related posts:

1. Moto-Myths 3: You are going to Crash
2. The perfect storm CRASH…
3. The Low Down on Seat Height

What would happen if one of those more obnoxiously driven cabs bumped you from behind?  Or turned into your lane right along side you?  Most cabbie’s are reasonably cool, and predictable, but a few of them are working long shifts and driving distracted (with phones in their ears).

Some older traditional riders are fans of “laying down the bike” in emergencies, but I say the first goal of emergency maneuvers is to stay off the ground…  Trust me, you don’t want to be laying on the ground anywhere on the road in NY traffic.  Someone once told me: Fortunately your bike is equipped with a vertical stabilizer mechanism that can keep it upright under any emergency situation.  As long as you’re starting off pretty much upright you can remain upright no matter what runs into you… If you’re a regular reader, you know what I’m talking about. It’s called the throttle.  Now this came in handy one day. I mentioned this a while back and said I’d write about it, so here it is:

My First Run-in with a Cab

A few years back I was riding down Lexington Ave on a Friday night, two up, when a taxi slams into my left side.  It was slightly behind me in the lane to my left, and making a sudden lane change.  In hindsight I knew the cabs were driving wildly that night, in that area – and to make things worse, there were no lanes painted on the newly resurfaced road.  So the cabs were really squeezing through every part of the road in a chaotic fashion.  If I knew better, I would have taken a different road…

So there I was bouncing off the side of a cab, my wife (who’s a really good sport about these things) was struggling to stay on the back after pushing off the side of the cab.  We were going to fall when I remembered someone telling me “your bike has a built in stabilizer, it’s your throttle stupid.”  I rolled on the throttle straightened up the bike and pulled over to assess the damage.

I was so glad that it didn’t turn out worse that I wasn’t even upset at that point, just a little dazed.  The cab had a couple of foot-long scrapes down the side from where the footpegs hit the side, along with a dent where the left handlebar hit the side.  My bike had a broken turn signal, and the left clipon got knocked loose so it was wobbly, but the clutch still worked and I could steer with the right handle bar to get home.  My wife developed a bruise on her knee, but fortunately nothing serious.

So here’s the deal: I hope this never happens to you.  And if you’re careful it probably won’t.  But if it does, keep your head, keep it upright, a little throttle and being light on the bars can help you straighten out just about anything.  Do you have a collision story where the car runs into you?  Tell us about it, and anything you might have learned from it.

[PS - most accidents involving cars happen the other way around: when cars pull into the path of a bike that is going too fast to stop...so cars making left turns out of driveways, u-turns, oncoming cars making sudden left turns, etc.  The only thing you can do for those types of accidents is to plan beforehand by watching your speed, keeping it in line with your braking abilities...]

Related posts:

1. Riding Skills: An Exit Strategy
2. Riding Skills: What to do?
3. Top Four Gotcha Moves