On the surface, riding a motorbike is easy: swing a leg over, thumb the starter button, stamp it into gear, release the clutch and off you go into a world of open air fun and exhilaration. However, as with everything in this world, the more you do it, the more you learn, and often, it is the little things that can make all the difference.
Learning these hacks and tips by yourself is great fun but one of the most important tips is to not assume you know it all and to learn from others, while at the same time sifting out the bad and downright dangerous advice. To help you get started, here is our list of the best tips and hacks we have learned through painful experience.
10 Assume You Are Invisible
You might have lights blazing and be wearing hi-visibility clothing but for some reason car drivers will still fail to see you and pull out of a side road or change lanes right in front of you. The problem is that bikes are so much smaller and more maneuverable, which means you often move into a space where a few seconds ago, there was nothing for the driver to see.
Add to that the fact that car drivers are lazy with their observation and there’s a recipe for disaster. The only way to combat this is to be patient when maneuvering to pass a car or truck: make sure they’ve seen you. The same when approaching a junction with a car waiting to turn out into your road. Flash your lights if you have to. Assume you are invisible and ride accordingly.
9 Be Comfortable
No, we’re not talking about what you are sitting on - although it is important to be comfortable there as well - but what you wear. If it’s hot, wear a jacket with mesh panels to create air flow. If it’s cold, wrap up with plenty of layers. The idea is to reduce the chance of your concentration being impaired because half your mind is on how hot or how cold you are.
Make sure the apparel fits properly: pressure points will restrict blood flow while a garment that is too loose will flap around: both will distract you. The more comfortable you are in any weather, the more you will feel like riding in extremes of weather, which will increase your year-round enjoyment of riding. There’s lots of apparel to suit every pocket and buying second hand is also acceptable, except for helmets: always buy them new.
8 Ride Within Your Limits
Never be tempted to try and keep up with a faster rider if you are not confident that you can still ride within your limits. Not only will you put yourself in a situation where an accident is more likely to happen, but there’s a god chance that they are not as good as they think they are, so they might be over-riding, which means there’s a greater chance of them having an accident which could easily involve you if you are following too closely.
As a new rider, you have a lot to learn, but the worst way to do this is by being over-confident and riding above your skill level. Never feel like you can’t ride at your own pace, even if it means you get left far behind. If they’re good riders, they’ll understand that you are still learning and that you are intelligent enough to not get sucked in to someone else’s pace.
7 Go For Further Training
So, you’ve done enough to pass your test, and now you are legally allowed to ride on the road, and you’ve learned all there is to learn. Or have you? No, of course, not. It doesn’t matter whether you have been riding for one year or 50 years, you never stop learning. No matter how experienced you are, you’ll always benefit from further, more advanced training, giving you new skills to not only make you faster but safer.
Wherever you live there will likely be a riding academy offering courses for all skill levels, which you can work through in your own time. You’ll have to put your ego away and be open to criticism, but it will be worth it in the long run, and you’ll enjoy your riding so much more.
6 Don’t Be Afraid Of The Track
A lot of new riders are afraid of heading to their local track, thinking that you have to be a fast rider able to get your knee down in the corners before you can go. Nothing could be further from the truth. Many tracks have resident coaches who will take you step by step through the basics, gradually building up your speed to the point where you’ll wonder why you were so nervous in the first place.
A track is the perfect place to learn: always well-kept with no potholes or loose surfaces, nothing coming the other way and lots of run-off area if you get it wrong. And it’s a controlled environment: you’ll never be on track with a bunch of riders who are ten times as fast as you are, so you’ll be riding with similarly skilled riders against whom you can measure your progress. Your road riding will improve 100% when you apply the techniques you learned at the track.
5 Practice Riding Slowly
Control is the key word when riding your bike. It’s all very well riding fast, but you’ll be riding slowly in tight confines a lot as well so take time to practise that. All you need is a car park where you can practise doing tight turns at low speed, or doing a slalom between imaginary cones, or real ones if you have access to them.
The more you practice slow-speed maneuvers on your bike, the more you’ll become familiar with it and will be able to thread your way through traffic or tight parking spots easily and with confidence. You’ll be surprised how often you’ll use the skills you learn. As with riding on the open road, vision is all-important: look where you want to go, not where your front wheel is, and you’ll make it round a tight U-turn.
4 It’s Not All About Speed
One of the joys of riding a motorcycle is that you have no roof over your head, or door and window pillars to spoil your view around you: in short, you have the best seat in the house. But you’re not going to see anything if you’re always going full-throttle everywhere. Sure, there are times when that is fun, but going slowly can also be rewarding as you’ll give yourself more time to look around and enjoy what you’re riding past. Also, going fast takes a lot of concentration and energy, leaving you drained at the end. Slow down, relax, take it easy and enjoy the ride every now and again: it will take longer to get to your destination, but you’ll arrive fresh and with memories of the ride clear in your head.
3 Stay Calm
We all know that the drivers of cars simply don’t notice us as much as they notice other road users and that is something we have to live with. Even if you have a close shave with another road user, and it was patently their fault, don’t get riled up or angry: after all, they’ll be arriving at their destination long after you’ve reached yours, especially if they’re stuck in traffic. But the main reason for stying calm is that you will still have 100% of your attention on the road ahead and not on the jerk in the car behind you.
Remember: you’re vulnerable and riding when you are in a temper will likely as not make you ride faster and with less care than you normally would, which can lead to making a mistake. Everyone makes honest errors of judgment - even you! - so stay calm and go on your way. Make it as easy for others to see you on the road by paying attention to your road positioning: that way, they’ll have less reason to not see you, and you’ll all avoid getting into a temper.
2 Stay Fit
You might think that you’re just sitting there, and the bike is doing all the work but, in fact, the opposite is true: more than in a car, the rider has a huge effect on the behavior of the bike. The fitter you are, the better your bike control will be, not to mention being able to concentrate for longer periods, staving off fatigue and being a safer rider.
Going to a gym is great but so is more saddle time as you will be working the muscles involved in riding. Attending a few track days will also vastly improve our riding fitness: you have no idea how exhausted you will be after the first few times, but gradually, you’ll cope better and better and this will translate to a better road riding experience.
1 Don’t Buy Cheap Tires
The tires are the sole link between you and your bike and the road. The contact patch is relatively small, so you need to know that the rubber that is forming the contact patch is going to do its job properly, and the more you can spend on your tires, the better your riding experience is going to be as you won’t always be wondering if the tire is about to lose grip, even on a dry surface.
Also, a more expensive tire will have a longer life, costing you less in the long run. Choose the right tire for the type of riding you are doing and the bike you are riding is also very important: there’s no point paying top dollar for a set of Pirelli Diablo Super Corsas to fit to your Honda NC750X on which you commute to work and back every day. The same goes for your Ducati Panigale V4: it’s been engineered to hugely fine tolerances, so why would you fit a cheap Chinese tire? Buy the best you can afford.