I Am A New Biker, What Is Some Good Advice For Me?

[Marbro_za]

too late to read all the replies, But

Look where you want to go, Dont fixate on tree's etc that you are going to hit. Remember if you look at it, your body will direct you towards it

Be prepared to lock up your front wheel and go down. Mopeds love falling asleep and chucking you off in the rain

Everyone on the road is really really angry with you and wants to kill you. Assume they are all ninjas and will come out of nowhere

Wear decent gear, Doesnt have to be the best, but get the best that you can afford, Decide whats most important to you, Buy accordingly.. So rather cheap out a bit on a jacket, but spend more on a helmet. Buy decent gloves and boots but dont break the bank on a set of leathers


hopefully that confused you alot

 

[lupin]

Ditch the moped lol.

Just be carefull. Watch out for the point where you get over confident. That's possibly the most dangerous time.

 

[Lurch]

^^^^^Probably the best advice you can get as a new rider.

And learn from close calls. Might have been "their fault", but a penny to a pound, you could have done something different to change the outcome for the better.

 

[thunderous71]

dominate your road position when you need to ans don't be bullied by other road users to yield if they want to pass. If you get a prick, pull over some where safe and let them go.

Can't stress this tip enough, so many new scooter riders or low powered ones ride too close to the curb. One of the big problems with that is when you turn on a left hand bend you will drift out to the right most likely and get side swiped by some twat over taking you.

Get up to road speed as soon as it is safe for you to do so.

Trust that sixth sense that tells you something is amiss.

Never blindly follow a more "experienced" rider through traffic they could just be a twat also and on that note never try and play catch up with a fellow rider that rides faster than you. It is their job to slow down for you.

 

[Clint Love]

Looking at people is handy at a glance in your peripheral vision, but watching their wheels or the general attitude of their vehicle is much more indicative of their intent.

That's actually a really great point!

 

[Clint Love]

Something else of use is where a road splits off and a vehicle suddenly realises he needs to be going the other way and is in the wrong lane and swerve without checking what is around them

All day long in Dallas!

 

[ChunksLife]

welcome my advice is make shore you have a good set of tires the weather this time of year can be erratic

 

[TheSeacat]

Welcome! I can say from experience with the subject is always look where you want to go not strait down at the road. I road dirt bikes for years as a kid and when i first started riding i would stare at the road and not pay attention to my surroundings and what was happening a few yards ahead. Also if you can, take a class, you learn so much you never thought you would learn, even a kid that could rip a dirt bike around any track or forrest, it helped me out alot! Finally get the basic gear, helmet gloves, etc. You would rather have them and not crash - then not have them and crash. But thats all I can think of. Stay safe, ride safe, don't get too big for your breeches cause it could be life or death. Keep the rubber down man.

 

[Lurch]

welcome my advice is make shore you have a good set of tires the weather this time of year can be erratic

To expand on this, yes, check your bike regularly for everything, tyres - tyre pressures, fluids.

Google "POWDDERSS", if you can't find it, PM or @ mention me and I'll do you the breakdown of it.

 

[Aleks]

Welcome! I can say from experience with the subject is always look where you want to go not strait down at the road. I road dirt bikes for years as a kid and when i first started riding i would stare at the road and not pay attention to my surroundings and what was happening a few yards ahead. Also if you can, take a class, you learn so much you never thought you would learn, even a kid that could rip a dirt bike around any track or forrest, it helped me out alot! Finally get the basic gear, helmet gloves, etc. You would rather have them and not crash - then not have them and crash. But thats all I can think of. Stay safe, ride safe, don't get too big for your breeches cause it could be life or death. Keep the rubber down man.

Thanks for the reply, I appreciate it!

 

[BubbleBoy]

Welcome!! Every reply is good advice on here. Don't panic too much, the only thing that makes you a good road user is experience. The older you get the better you will get, experience simple as that. Take the good advice all the other posters have given you and you'll be half way there!! The only thing I would add is when following traffic, keep an eye on the cars 4 or 5 ahead. If you see them break or swerve you have plenty of time to take action and avoid danger. If you wait till the car in front does it it's likely to be too late!!

 

[Aleks]

too late to read all the replies, But

Look where you want to go, Dont fixate on tree's etc that you are going to hit. Remember if you look at it, your body will direct you towards it

Be prepared to lock up your front wheel and go down. Mopeds love falling asleep and chucking you off in the rain

Everyone on the road is really really angry with you and wants to kill you. Assume they are all ninjas and will come out of nowhere

Wear decent gear, Doesnt have to be the best, but get the best that you can afford, Decide whats most important to you, Buy accordingly.. So rather cheap out a bit on a jacket, but spend more on a helmet. Buy decent gloves and boots but dont break the bank on a set of leathers


hopefully that confused you alot

Thanks for the reply! I have only had one accident and it was in the rain doing about 15mph, and I have no idea why it threw me off. It was dark so the only possibility I can think of was a bit of oil because I have done that same corner loads of time. The bike does like to twitch as well but usually nothing major. Also, I can definitely agree that everyone is angry at me, 50% of the reason is because of the L plates and restrictions, the other 50% is just moped-rider stereotypes, (which I fortunately am not!).

 

[Aleks]

Welcome!! Every reply is good advice on here. Don't panic too much, the only thing that makes you a good road user is experience. The older you get the better you will get, experience simple as that. Take the good advice all the other posters have given you and you'll be half way there!! The only thing I would add is when following traffic, keep an eye on the cars 4 or 5 ahead. If you see them break or swerve you have plenty of time to take action and avoid danger. If you wait till the car in front does it it's likely to be too late!!

Thanks for the reply! I have been reading carefully through all the advice and I think it has helped me a lot. I have tried implementing as much as what I have read today but it will take some getting used to.

 

[Aleks]

welcome my advice is make shore you have a good set of tires the weather this time of year can be erratic

I am going to be buying a new set of Michelin Boppers for my moped, nothing fancy but I have read good reviews on them. I am also getting quite low on tread anyway and my bike does like to twitch in the rain which is quite terrifying! Thanks for the reply!

 

[Aleks]

Ditch the moped lol.

Just be carefull. Watch out for the point where you get over confident. That's possibly the most dangerous time.

The moped is only to get me to college and back and get my no-claims up. Once I turn 17 I am selling the moped and I will be getting a geared 125cc which I can't wait for! Thanks

 

[Aleks]

Position 1 - never move there to hope people pass, hold a defensive position 2/3 to stop people passing. Let them pass at their own risk and as a proper overtake. If they then cut it close, you have 6-8' of lane to your left to escape to, rather than 6-8" until you get to a kerb. You own the bit of the road you're on, not the arsehole behind.

Full braking - basically very hard braking but without locking the wheels or dropping the bike, actually quite hard to do without practice. By builing up to it you may eventually feel the odd wheel beginning to lock, and that's max braking. Don't forget to be progressive with the brakes though. A fistful will put you on the floor.

Thanks for the reply, come to think of it now going into position 1 is a stupid idea to let people pass.

 

[Aleks]

Learn to drag the rear brake for slow speed maneuvers and practice 'slow drags' to really get a feel for your bike. Main thing is you should be hammering away on skills drills and getting as much seat time in empty parking lots as possible until you can bring both brakes to near-lock without crashing juuuuust in case you get into an emergency situation.

Gear is good for low speed crashes that don't involve wrapping yourself around solid objects. The rest of the time you need to be making WISE decisions and practicing vision drills (looking for cars pulling out, driveways, blind corners, slow down and anticipate stupidity) to cover the rest. Your brain is your primary piece of safety gear. If that's malfunctioning, no amount of gear is going to save you. I've seen people in full race suits dead on the street because they got too aggressive on the street and lost it under a vehicle.

Looking at people is handy at a glance in your peripheral vision, but watching their wheels or the general attitude of their vehicle is much more indicative of their intent. Plenty of people turn their head to look at random crap all the time, including their damned ipad... I've gotten stuck behind people with an ipad on the steering wheel as they're cruising down the road at 50mph reading the latest news and ordering take-out for the night.

I'd have a lot more to say if you were in front of me, but another top tip would be learn as much about doing your own maintenance as possible and build up at least a basic tool kit for simple stuff. If you know how to do basic service it'll go a long way toward saving you gobs of dough when a shop tries to charge you double the labor rate or three times what a part actually costs... Not to mention saving yourself a fat stack not having to pay for an hour labor for a simple oil change. Often the labor costs much more than the parts. You could do 3-4 oil changes for how much most dealers would charge to do it.

Thanks for the reply! Thankfully I have been tinkering with motors since I can remember and I am doing a Mechanics course in college at the moment, so maintenance isn't a problem for me thankfully. Also, currently having a 2 stroke moped means very little maintenance anyway.

Unfortunately, (where I live), its difficult to find an empty car park and stay in it without being booted off. I still manage though.

 

[Aleks]

^^^^^Probably the best advice you can get as a new rider.

And learn from close calls. Might have been "their fault", but a penny to a pound, you could have done something different to change the outcome for the better.

I have heard a few stories about how over-confident people have crashed. How would I know If I've become over-confident? Thanks.

 

[Aleks]

To expand on this, yes, check your bike regularly for everything, tyres - tyre pressures, fluids.

Google "POWDDERSS", if you can't find it, PM or @ mention me and I'll do you the breakdown of it.

I have Googled "POWDDERSS" and I have found it Thankfully I work part time at a garage so in my spare time, during breaks, I am definitely going to follow this. Thanks for the reply!

 

[Lurch]

I have heard a few stories about how over-confident people have crashed. How would I know If I've become over-confident? Thanks.

When you start feeling complacent really!