Twenty-Five Things I wish I knew when I started riding

[DangerMoney]

-Never overlap another vehicle.
-Stay away from vehicles that have pieces bent, burnt or missing.
-Cover the brakes when you see someone wanting to pull out from from a parking lot/sidestreet into your lane.
-Stay mentally ahead of the bike 7-9 seconds. More as your speed increases. It's about anticipation, not reaction. Look where you want to go, not where you are.
-Ride like you're invisible.

[Sport-Touring]

[Jimbo62]

First post here, but some good advise...
- Try to avoid zig-zagging the cones in a construction zone: though it may be fun, your idiot buddy following you will not like a cone bouncing infront of him that you just caught off your toe when you got too close to one.  (Experience speaking here)
- Upon riding the first time with a new rider, take them to the nearest hospital emergency room entrance and say" this is the only time I plan on coming here while we're riding together"  You both will have a sombering laugh together and ride a little more safely with that thought in mind.
Hope these help, reading through this thread has woken me up to a few I have forgotten over the years.  Thanks.

[jesse v]

That cruisers are boring.

[coucours grad]

Weirdest things happen on the days when you feel the best. Always assume everyone is out to kill you, your about to shread a brand new tire on the piece of angle iron that just fell off a pickup truck....If you like the weather wait 5 minutes, it WILL change and YES, YOU CAN OUTRUN THE RAIN if your lucky.


   

[Papa Lazarou]

Never filter if the car in front can move into another lane.

[Kneescrubber]

Weirdest things happen on the days when you feel the best. Always assume everyone is out to kill you, your about to shread a brand new tire on the piece of angle iron that just fell off a pickup truck....If you like the weather wait 5 minutes, it WILL change and YES, YOU CAN OUTRUN THE RAIN if your lucky.


  

And deer if the angle is right.

[blastoff99]

That pile of leaves? The ones on top may be dry, but the ones on the bottom certainly aren't.

[vfrrider]

Wished I knew about the "vibranator" when I was 16.

Larry
VFRrider

[FJRider]

This bit-o-wisdom if for the rest stops and not the ride itself:

There is no sex in the Champagne Room regardless of what the dancer leads you to believe.

Seriously, this is a great topic full of great advice.

[Doc4216]

Don't let others tell you what would be a good bike for you, figure out what you like. Test ride it, research it, and make sure it fits YOUR needs!

[Papa Lazarou]

Don't let others tell you what would be a good bike for you, figure out what you like. Test ride it, research it, and make sure it fits YOUR needs!

that's most of the discussions on STN fecked then.....

[coho]

Earplugs.

[Doc4216]

that's most of the discussions on STN fecked then.....

True, touche`

[elizabethhill]

Nice list you have here.  

Another thing, if you plan to participate in a sports tour, this is a good website to check. http://www.thesportingtraveller.com/

[UrbanHermit]

Learned this from rear-visioning a one-second miss of a 140 mph closing speed head-on with a passing car:  

When you are on a two-lane and have clear road ahead of you, especially if there is also clear road behind you, ride to the outside as a string of cars approaches.  It makes it easier for the idiot one or two cars back to see you when he decides to pull out to pass.  You also see it beginning to happed a half-second sooner, and that half-second can mean the difference between life and death.

[J-Mac]

Or your seat!

I know a guy that coats his seat before every ride. He's the fastest rider I've ever seen. I'm not some moron with no idea what a fast guy is. He swears by it.
Also, use spot mirrors. The wedge shaped ones work best.

[Hissy603]

+1 on the moron list and escape route plan.

add..In traffic, always look at least one car ahead of the one thats directly in front of you and don't ride in the center of the lane. Debris always gets caught there.

....like the AXE in the middle of the high speed lane, Rt 3 Chelmsford last Monday afternoon...aye-yi-yi! It got clipped by the rear tire of the car in front of me, jumped about a foot in the air behind it. Thankfully I had lots of space in front of me and was out in the right of the lane, not in the center. Kinda startles to see something like that tho...

[Me_In_Va]

Work out where the car's blind spot is-they have these pillars holding the roof up.

Blind spot for most drivers? Anywhere they point their head, if they have a cell phone in hand.