Posted in riding tips on Oct 6th, 2009
A video from vlogger sfninja at the California Superbike School
I’ve been busy lately. Too busy to ride for fun. All my riding for the past few weeks has been commuting. Now I notice that when I’m commuting I get a good amount of practice with throttle control and shifting. And I get a lot of [...]
Posted in how-to, riding tips on Sep 10th, 2009
It’s back to school season here in NY. And right on cue, the weather is lovely and gray in the mid 60’s. Fall riding isn’t like spring riding (with all the salt and dirt on the roads), and it’s nothing like winter riding, but it certainly has a couple of things to watch out for… [...]
Posted in riding tips, scooter on Sep 2nd, 2009
On a semi-vacation this week, so here’s a lazy post: A video of a pretty good gymkhana rider… Notice his body position when he’s on the brakes. He’s not leaning on the bars, instead he leans back as he brakes (and leans forward when speeding up). Now I’ve seen this with motorcycle gymkhana [...]
Posted in riding tips on Jun 23rd, 2009
Bad habits are hard to break. But when it comes to turning a motorcycle at speed, you either break the habit or it can break you. Ha! How’s that for a dramatic statement? But this is serious business. Here’s what I mean… Most car drivers turn this way: they get to the turn-point and they [...]
Posted in riding tips on May 18th, 2009
Did you know there’s a traffic mojo? Maybe you feel like cars are cutting you off, trying to pass you, creeping into your lane – that’s when you ain’t got no mojo. Because when you’ve got it, people see you, they don’t seem to mind standing behind you, and don’t mind when you cut in. [...]
Posted in riding tips on May 14th, 2009
Yes, this is yet another post on being light on the bars, like this one. But here I want to ask you a question:
How light CAN you hold the bars and still be in control?
Ask yourself that question on your ride home…
So, let’s break this down: how hard do you need to hold the bars [...]
Posted in how-to, misc, riding tips on Mar 26th, 2009
Here’s something that I’m no good at, but it intrigues me… There’s a chapter in TWOTW2 that talks about Wide Vision. You can think of it as the opposite of Target Fixation. The way it works is, when you “fixate” you’re scared of something, and as a result your eyes lock onto it and can’t [...]
Posted in motorcycle safety, riding tips on Feb 27th, 2009
Although I don’t recommend this, I think it might actually work in getting cars to notice you in NY. If you ever wished car’s would notice you more, perhaps an even better (and safer) option is to invest in a hi-viz safety vest to wear (at times) over your regular gear.
Posted in riding tips on Feb 23rd, 2009
I remember reading an article on a site that said (and I paraphrase):
Riding a motorcycle takes a lot of upper body strength. It’s no wonder that bikers also like to pump iron. Turning a bike requires strong inputs to the handlebars as they can become very heavy at speed.
And the picture that went along with [...]
Posted in riding tips on Feb 18th, 2009
In Zoolander, the main character wasn’t an “ambi-turner” he couldn’t turn in both directions, he could only turn right (or was it left?). That’s either the funniest thing you ever heard or the stupidest. That is, until you start to ride a motorcycle in a cramped city… Most people who have this trouble have a [...]
Tweets