Street Rider's Guide. David L. Hough
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just as you reach the “bump,” you realize it’s a trench that has been cut across the road at an angle rather than straight across the lane. To make matters worse, the trench has been filled with deep loose gravel that is now lower than the edge of the pavement. You try to get your front tire bounced up over the far edge, but instead it plows along in the gravel, and the bike crashes on its side. It’s not a serious crash, but you’re embarrassed because you thought you could handle a little “bump.”
A Bump sign indicates a difference in level between two surfaces, even if the bump is at an angle crossing the lane. When you see construction signs, put your brain on full alert and try to figure out the nature of the situation. Until you know what’s happening, it would be wise to slow down. When you realized the hard edge was at an angle, you should have steered farther away from the edge and then swerved back toward it at a greater angle, preferably 45 degrees or more.
Bumper Bikes
Getting rear-ended can ruin your day.
Traffic has been heavy today on the freeway, and you’re glad to finally be on a surface street headed for home, alongside your riding buddy. You’re overheated, fatigued, and frustrated at traffic, and you’re looking forward to a hot bath and a cold beer.
You’d prefer to have more space ahead and behind, but other drivers seem to want to tailgate. And, if you drop back far enough for comfort, someone swerves over in front of you. So, you just do the best you can and hope no one does anything stupid. You do cover the brake lever, move over toward the left side of the lane, and make sure you squeeze hard enough to activate your brake light. You realize you’re not going to get home on time, and you steal a glance at the clock to see how late you’re going to be.
When you look up again, you see the brake lights of the car ahead. You quickly squeeze on the front brake to bring the bike to a stop. But the driver behind you doesn’t seem to comprehend what’s happening and slams into the back of your buddy’s bike, pushing it ahead into the stopped car. Neither of you are injured, but now you’ll have to stick around to deal with the accident and maybe help transport the damaged bike.
Even if you’re almost home, don’t let your guard down. Moving over to the left side of the lane was smart and covering the brake lever was good, but squandering attention on your late arrival distracted you from the situation. In heavy traffic, you must look several vehicles ahead to monitor traffic and brake early when you know you’re going to have to stop, to better warn the driver behind you.
Camber Clashes
Off-camber left-handers require special attention.
You’ve finally found the time to ride some of those twisty roads you’ve only read about. The road called the “Dragon” through Deal’s Gap in North Carolina has been high on your list, and finally you get the chance to ride it. You’re enjoying the twists and turns, but you’re constantly amazed at how quickly the pavement changes direction and shape. You have to work hard just keeping the bike within your lane. It’s a fun ride, and you gradually increase your pace as you gain confidence.
Just when you thought you had the “Dragon” tamed, you carve into a left-hander and run out of leanover clearance. Your sidestand slides along in a trail of sparks, levering the bike up until the rear tire loses traction. The rear end slides out, and the bike drops into a muddy ditch. You’re not seriously injured, thanks to armor in your riding gear. But there is much broken plastic that will need serious repairs before you can continue the trip.
Almost all twisty roads have one or more dangerous corners. If you’re not intimately familiar with a road, it’s best to ride very conservatively and follow smart cornering lines. Be aware that left-handers are often more dangerous than right-handers, due to the camber of the pavement.
Entering this corner, you should have observed the right edge of the pavement disappearing; a strong clue it slants off steeply toward the ditch. You should have immediately braked to reduce speed and lean angle, and shifted your weight to the left. Your cornering lines have a direct bearing on whether you crash or continue. Entering this left-hander more from the right would have pointed the bike toward the level pavement near the center of the road.
Countersteering
Steering the handlebars makes it lean.
You just got into motorcycling a couple of months ago. Now that you have a motorcycle license, you’re eager to get out and ride, although it’s still pretty scary. Sometimes the bike seems to have a mind of its own.
You feel a lot safer on slower state highways than on the freeways. You drop down into a valley and realize there’s a very narrow concrete bridge ahead. Luckily, there’s not a big truck coming, but it still looks awfully narrow. You can’t keep your eyes off that steel guardrail where it wraps around the concrete. You press your right knee against the tank to urge the bike to lean more toward the left, but it doesn’t budge. It just keeps heading toward the guardrail. Finally, you panic and jam on the rear brake to get the bike slowed, just before it bangs into the rusty steel. Your leg is scraped between the bike and the rail, but it doesn’t feel broken.
As it happens, we subconsciously steer the bike where we are looking. Staring at the guardrail probably caused you to steer toward it. So, rather than staring at the guardrail, you should have focused on the center of your lane a hundred feet beyond the bridge and ignored the guardrail.
It’s very important to understand how to make a two-wheeler turn. To turn, first you have to get the bike leaned. After the bike is leaned, you can steer it. The leaning part is called countersteering because you momentarily steer opposite or counter to the way you want the bike to go. For instance, to steer the bike more toward the left, you lean it to the left by momentarily pressing on the left handlebar grip. Press left to lean left. Press right to lean right. If this is news to you, it would be wise to spend some time practicing countersteering away from traffic, to get it figured out. By the way, your braking technique needs a little work, too.
Deer Drama
Are those deer warning signs realistic? Yes, they are.
You finally managed to attend a motorcycle rally in Eastern Oregon, and now you’re heading for the coast, riding through the fertile John Day Valley. It’s cool, so you’re wearing all your gear. You notice occasional deer warning signs and wonder about reducing speed. But other drivers don’t slow, including pickup trucks with Oregon plates. You wonder if they know something you don’t. Are those deer signs realistic? The only deer you’ve seen have been out in the fields. You decide to maintain speed.
Suddenly, there’s a flash of brown in the roadside greenery and, instantly, there’s a buck leaping over the guardrail directly into your path. You are so startled you don’t even roll off the throttle as the bike slams into the deer and cartwheels. You remember a short flight and then the unforgettable crunching impact as you slam into the pavement. When you come to, you struggle to remember what happened and then realize you are lying in the road with several other motorists gathered around to help. The medics have been called. Your trip is over for today—and for the rest of the year—but you’re alive, thanks in part to your gear.
Yes, the deer signs are realistic. They are posted when there have been an abnormally high number of deer strikes in that area. Deer don’t seem to have any instinctive fear of motor vehicles, and in areas such as this, there are hundreds of deer strikes every month between spring and fall. The locals don’t slow down because deer strikes are treated as an unfortunate risk. When a heavier vehicle such as a pickup truck hits a deer, the driver is protected by crumple zones, belts, and airbags. But when a motorcyclist hits a deer, the results can be serious injury.