Bad riding habits often creep up without us realizing it. Afterall if we knew we were doing something wrong most of us would want to correct it. This week on MCrider we will look at 5 bad riding habits, stay tuned to see if any of these affect you.
Habit #1: Not looking far enough down the road. Many riders ride like they are in a bubble and never look outside that bubble. At highway speeds you are traveling over 100 feet per second. That means if you are looking 100 feet in front of you, there is only 1 second to deal with whatever pops up in the road.
The fix: Always keep your head and eyes up. Look far enough down the road that you are not surprised by what happens. It is always better to make adjustments on the bike than to react at the last second.
Habit 2: Riding with the heels of your feet on the foot pegs. You may ask “why is this a problem?” Have you ever leaned in to a corner and dragged your toes on the ground? I have a few times, most of the time it only gets your heart rate up temporarily but one time my toe caught on the ground and ripped my foot from the peg. My leg whipped back hitting the right pannier and felt like it broke my toe and ankle. There was no injury but I did have a nice scratch on my newly painted bags on the Valkyrie.
The fix: Ride with your toes on the foot pegs. This is one I still have to remind myself of on occasion but never when I am leaning the bike deep into a curve.
Habit 3: Believing you are a better rider than you are. It’s time for me to get honest here. I have been to and taught many rider classes. In most classes there is some form of introduction with riders talking about their experience riding a motorcycle. I have listened to many riders talk about their advanced skills or years of riding a motorcycle and then see these same riders struggle with exercises in the basic riding course, not to even mention what happens in the more advanced classes.
Just because you can get a motorcycle to 70MPH in a straight line without incident does not mean you have control. A riding class or clinic will put you in situations you may only face once every two years on the street. It is often these skills that keep us from wrecking when it comes up naturally on the street.
The fix: Never stop learning, enroll in a class, become a Patron and access the Field Guide. I have many exercises you can practice on your own in an empty parking lot.
Habit 4: Not looking through a turn. Many riders ride into a turn or curve and have no idea what is at the apex or the exit of the curve. We would all agree that once you lean a motorcycle over it becomes much more difficult to stop quickly. So why would you enter a curve without knowing if it is clear?
The fix: Look. Remember our cornering series here on MCrider? We focussed on 4 steps to negotiate a curve. Slow – Look – Press – Roll There is a reason why you look before you lean a motorcycle over it is so you can see through the corner. Not only that but your motorcycle will go where you look. The next time you go for a ride focus on looking where you want the motorcycle to go. You will be surprised what it will do for your cornering.
Habit 5: Riding at the limits. By riding at the limits I am talking about riding at the limits of your skills, riding at the limits of your traction and riding at the limits of your motorcycle.
On the street there is no gold plastic trophy at the end of the ride. There is no rush to get where you need to be. You should always ride on the streets in a manner that leaves traction in reserve. Because you never know when the unexpected will occur. It only takes one yellow Porsche to change your whole life. It only takes one spot of sand, one child running into the street or one curve that is sharper than you realized.
The fix: Ride within your limits. Sometimes you don’t get a second chance to make the same mistake. On the street always ride with more skill than you need and more traction than you need. The reward is a great ride and getting home to your family.
