What’s a “safe” speed to ride?  Good question.  I want to make the case that a safe speed is not so much about an actual number, but about riding with a certain amount of margin… So some people might endanger themselves riding a particular street at 30 mph, especially one with lots of blind driveways and cars turning onto the road from stop signs…whereas another might safely navigate the same road closer to 50…

So here’s the basic idea: just the way when you’re planning your finances you factor in a margin, just in case certain things wind up costing a bit more.  And just the way when you schedule your time you factor in a “margin” in case things take a little longer than expected.  We need to leave margins when we ride so that we’re not using 100% of our ability at a given time.  Even MotoGp racers don’t use 100% of their speed and ability most of the time – we see this is true when front runners of a race put their head down to really give it their all toward the end of a close race (often setting record times on worn tires).  Why?  Because they don’t race at a 100% all the way through, the margin for error would be too small, and there would be no room to improvise and hone lines while they battle for position.  Instead of riding at 100%, they hone their skills in practice so that their 70% is faster than anything regular people like you and me could dream of reaching…

In the same way, I think safe riding on the street means riding at 50-70% of our ability…  So that when those emergency situations occur, we have enough space and technique in reserve to handle it.  50% margin means entering turns with a line and speed that if there was gravel or an oil slick right around the bend I’d be able to handle it.  50% margin means even if the car ahead of me slams on the brakes for no reason, I’ll be able to stop without hitting him.  50% margin means I am in total control of my vehicle, and even if a pedestrian comes out of nowhere, I’d be able to handle it.

For some people riding at 50% can be quite slow.  For more experienced riders with better braking and cornering skills, 50% margin could still be a brisk pace.  But the point is to ride well within the limits of your abilities so that you have enough in reserve for unexpected occurrences.  Valentino Rossi’s 50% on the street would probably still be way faster than my 110%, so I have to ride my own margins, not someone else’s.

Newer riders are often tempted to ride at their limit as they struggle to keep up with traffic or other riders.  My advice is to stay away from those roads where you won’t be able to comfortably keep pace with traffic until you can handle them easily.  You should be 100% in control of your bike, and your position in traffic at all times… because even when you’re completely in control unexpected things can happen.

What about on the track? Most people say “save the fast stuff for the track,” but even on the track, the instructors at CSS recommend riding at 75% of your pace.  When you ride at 100% you survival reactions kick in, and it makes it difficult to learn anything… So instead of going at 100% and (maybe) crashing out, why not ride at 75% and use that energy to get better corner speed, find a better line, get a better roll-on through the corner – so that your 75% can be faster than your old 100%?

Related posts:

1. Traffic Riding Mojo
2. Riding Tips: Road Positioning in the City
3. Moving Thru Traffic

Heat can make you loopy.  And in a city filled with air conditioning and wool suits in the summer, ours is not a society that knows how to handle real heat.  Feel faint on the subway and you only have to hold out until the next stop.  Feel faint while riding in traffic, and you still have a great deal to do before you can take a swig of your peach Snapple.  So here are five really simple but important tips on keeping it together in the heat!

For long rides, summer track days, and long hot commutes:

Tip #1, don’t skip meals. Make sure you’re eating something at regular intervals.  Your brain needs a lot of glucose in order to process all the information on the road, and hot weather manages to sidetrack a lot of it.  Make sure you eat something whether you’re hungry or not, because you can’t pull out a sandwich in the middle of your ride.

Tip #2, take a sip of water every chance you get.  You don’t have to down whole bottles at a sitting, it’s actually better if you don’t…but take a couple of sips whenever you get the chance.  If you’re off on a long ride, take a few sips at every rest stop whether you feel like you need it or not.

Tip #3, monitor bathroom breaks. Okay – this sounds like kindergarten – but if you’re not peeing a couple of times during the day, then you’re probably dehydrated.

Tip #4, salt tablets. You’ve seen the Gatorade commercials…when you sweat you lose the electrolytes your body needs.  Most of those electrolytes can be found in common table salt.  If you don’t have salt in your system, then your body won’t be able to put all that water to use!  In a pinch, if you don’t have salt tablets, try downing a pinch of table salt (yuck)…just make sure you have water to wash it down.

Tip #5, stay away from caffeine. I love coffee almost more than life itself…but when I need to beat the heat I have to limit my coffee intake, and make sure to hydrate after my morning cup o’ jo.  But it’s not just coffee, stay away from diet pepsi, colas, anything else that’ll keep your body from holding onto water.

Got any more tips for hot summer rides?  Share the wealth in the comments section!

Related posts:

1. Five Tips on Keeping Cool
2. Welcome to the Fall Riding Season
3. Managing heat is a skill…

If you’ve ever had a bike stolen (I have), you know it doesn’t matter how many disk locks you have or OnGuard chains…unless it’s actually chained to something, someone can pick it up and throw it inside a van in two seconds…

Well here’s a great idea from some clever city bikers in the UK: Lock2Lock.  The gist of it is, when you park your bike you can loop your chain around the chain of someone’s else’s bike.  That way some thief can’t just throw your bike in the back of a van.  To let people know you give them permission to chain up to their chain, you put an L2L sticker on your bike… And since chains are just locked up to other chains, any bike can pull out at any time.  Brilliant!

[Repost: how easy it is to steal a bike with a van]

The ONLY thing I’d change about the system is instead of putting a sticker on your bike why not just put the sticker on the lock itself or the chain?  That way you don’t go marring your fancy paint job…

Of course it only works in places where there are enough bikes…but we’ll only have more bikes as bike parking becomes safer and more practical.  One part of that equation is being able to secure a motorcycle from theft.

So what do you think?  Any other changes you’d make?  Anyone interested in making this happen over here?

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1. Best Practices: Xena Disc Lock
2. Top 5 Sidewalk Parking Tips
3. How to Park Your Motorcycle on the Street, in NY

For me this is it.  I’m not a Ducati-snob, I actually like my Japanese made bikes… And as long as Honda makes bikes like the 600rr, I’ll do my best to own one.  I also happen to love the gurgling sound an inline four’s make when they’re running a little lean (go figure!)…  But I think the v-4 in the Desmo sounds amazing.  What do you think…?  Am I being suckered by the price tag and rarity of this high priced collector’s bike, or is it really a thing of beauty?

What’s the best sounding bike you’ve ever heard?  [BTW - I've only seen one of these on the street once - near the 59th bridge on the Queens side.]

Related posts:

1. Oil slick…
2. How to Sell your Bike on Craigslist
3. Video of a Bike Theft

Or is it more central California?  Anyway, Socal is close enough, and if this video doesn’t make you want to move there, then I don’t know what will… other than the great weather, great Mexican food, and all that Hollywood stuff.

It sometimes surprises street riders who’ve never been on a track, that people think racing on a track is safer than riding on the street.  I think (based on accident statistics) it is…  And for all the good track based riding schools out there, there should be more riding schools geared for street riders because even though the street might seem “easier” 90% of the time, it’s many times more dangerous… So you have to be prepared physically and mentally…

Related posts:

1. Moto-Myths 3: You are going to Crash
2. Bikes are Dangerous…(but maybe not as dangerous as you think!)
3. Three Ways to Make Motorcycles as Safe as Minivans

Since we’re on the topic (the last few posts)…here are the Top 5 misconceptions people have (and the “experts” inadvertently perpetuate) about suspension settings:

Misconception #5 – Once you set up your suspension you’ll never touch it again.

Sure you can ride safely with a wide variety of suspension settings dialed-in…BUT once you start twiddling with the suspension, you’ll actually WANT to dial it in for different riding conditions, different tracks, etc…  You might want softer settings for leisurely local rides, but stiffen it up for a weekend ride upstate.  Most people won’t have-to adjust the preload for riding with a passenger, but you’ll find that once you know how easy it is, you’ll WANT to for a longer two-up ride.

Misconception #4 – There’s a magic setting that’s PERFECT for you and your bike.

Some people share suspension settings on message boards…but it doesn’t make a lot of sense.  Suspensions differ slightly from one bike to another, depending on mileage and temperature.  Not only that, your riding style and feel and ability differs, along with your tires and road conditions… So that there is no magic suspension that’s perfect.  This is why in professional racing, the best riders in the world with the best most accurate suspension components tune their suspensions for every race at every track…even if they’ve been there before a dozen times. They don’t just go by what they did the last time they were there because things change…

Misconception #3 – If you dial in the wrong suspension setting, you’ll wind up crashing in a heaping fireball!

Chances are you’ve already ridden bikes that were set up totally wrong for you.  And if you’ve never adjusted your suspension, chances are what you’re riding now is set up totally wrong for you – and yet you were able to compensate by riding in a way that suits your bike.  If you were to totally mess up your suspension settings, you’d still be able to ride it.  But if you improve on your suspension settings from how it is now, even the tiniest bit – you’ll be able to ride better, get better handling, with more comfort and ease.

Misconception #2 Proper suspension set up requires years of study and experience.

Your ability to tune your suspension and your riding ability go together.  As you’re better able to tell what your bike is doing beneath you, and ride in such a way that you’re optimizing your bike’s ability – you will be better and better equipped to make adjustments that enable the bike to handle better.  So “yes” being GREAT at suspension adjustment will take years, because being a good rider takes some years…  But overall, riding a bike is much more complicated and technical than tuning its suspension… Which is why Valentino Rossi makes more than the technicians who adjust his suspension.

Misconception #1 The factory settings are probably just fine for me.

Motorcycles with adjustable suspensions often come from the factory with seemingly random suspension settings.  Often times the settings front and back are completely mismatched.  But as we’ve been saying, as riders we manage to compensate for the adjustment settings by riding differently.  Most of the differences we mistakenly attribute to the bike, but the reality is that suspension settings make a big difference in how a bike feels and handles.

Bonus misconception…

One more…  Some people make it sound like you NEED to swap suspension components and make pricey upgrades in order to REALLY get a good setup.  Now sometimes something like replacing a rear spring can really improve your ride…  However, making any adjustments to suit your weight and riding style can improve a bike’s handling without any additional cost.  If you like the way bike rides already, you don’t need to swap out your factory springs – while it can improve your setup further, adjusting your suspension doesn’t mean you have-to spend more money on it unless you want to… The same goes for top shelf suspension components…chances are you don’t actually NEED all that to have a good ride on your way to work – or to the countryside for the weekend.

Bottom line, there are bikes that don’t have adjustable suspensions at all – most scooters and entry level bikes like the Ninja 250…  So if your bike does have adjustable shocks – make the most of it!  You’ll be amazed at what your bike can do.

Related posts:

1. You and your suspension settings…
2. Top 5 misconceptions about Track Days
3. Top Five Motorcycle Misconceptions…

Which results in more fatalities every year in Manhattan [a] walking, [b] bicycling, or [c] motorcycling (including scooters)? Check your answer after the jump!

If you said “[a] walking,” then you’re right.  In 2007 there were 37 pedestrian deaths in Manhattan (acc. to the NHTSA-Manhattan).  Followed by the second most dangerous form of transportation (generally by a slim margin year after year) in NYC: bicycling. There were 7 fatalities for bicycling in Manhattan (in 2007) compared to 5 for motorcycles and scooters…

So what’s the point we should take from this?  Motorcycling is dangerous, but so are other forms of transportation including walking.  You need to be careful regardless of how you travel, but motorcycles and scooters can be a great and reasonably safe way to get around, especially in cities.

Want to check the statistics for your part of NYC?  Click here for: The Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island.  The formula for motorcycle accidents seems to be high traffic + helmet use make motorcycles almost as safe as automobiles.  Medium traffic areas where vehicles travel at higher speeds in the presence of traffic hazards like driveways, intersections, etc, tend to be the most dangerous for motorcyclists (and automobile passengers), while at the same time being less travelled by pedestrians and bicyclists.  Of course, wide open roads and canyons are the best, but we don’t get much of that over here.

Related posts:

1. Parking your motorcycle in Manhattan
2. Three Ways to Make Motorcycles as Safe as Minivans
3. The Greenest Alternative

Perhaps the caption to this should be “Propeller-heads ogle electric motorcycle at TED.”  So this is the electric bike we mentioned a couple of posts ago.  Can anyone find a video of this thing in motion?  You can see it move 10 ft, along with the official presentation here.  Cheers!

Related posts:

1. Electric Motorcycle Repost
2. Electric land speed record…(zzzz)
3. Time Waster: The Electric R1 Future?

Hey if your bike still runs and you’re still able to ride, I think you have a lot to be thankful for!  So whether you’re home hanging out watching DVDs or getting together with family tonight, I hope you have a happy thanksgiving!

[Picture of one of the Macy's floats while it's still being inflated Wednesday night]

Related posts:

1. Giving thanks (2009)
2. Happy Fourth Everyone!

Ducati has decided to unleash it’s newest monster a few days after Halloween. Only it’s not a “Monster” this time…it’s a buck naked 1098. The people who invented the naked sportbike have jumped into the fray once again with the king of the hill streetfighter.  (Click here for the teaser video)

Is it just me, or does it look like something I’ve seen before? Sure it’s nice. And I bet it’s fast, but the early Monsters were beautiful, and the 1098 is distinctive and clean… This looks nice, but nothing special. Perhaps I’ll change my mind when I see it in person. This model was just released today. At the same event Ducati announced that the 1098 will be replaced with a bigger bored 1198… Stuff like this is usually good news for bargain hunters looking for left overs of the older models (I think you can still find some new 999s out there). As Warren Buffet said, be cautious when others are Bullish, and when everyone is scared of the market put your money in motorcycles. Or at least that’s how I heard it. So what do you think of the new ducks?

Related posts:

1. Ducati-nomics: the Monster 696
2. Taming the Monster
3. Motorcycle Show 2009