Look out for that...

[Kenny007]

Another newbie question from the new rider...

Now that I've been able to bumble around town, and even a bit in the country, I have a bit of knowledge (little at best) on how a ride can go. However, throughout my entire ride I think of what could go wrong, with brief Intermissions of "Man this is really cool!". Avoiding little objects in the road becomes a major concern in my travels. Having read up on so many ways SEASONED riders can go down, even the most minute of pebbles can send me looking for another part of the lane... In addition, the road to my mothers house has a delta of dirt and gravel at its base, and, having read so much about the dangers of gravel, I took that turn so wide tonight that it was NECESSARY not to have someone in the other lane (desolate country road, so my margin for errors is larger)...my wife was not pleased about that in the rearview mirror...lol. Lastly, on the ride home, someone must have been watering their lawn and the neighbors as well, as there was a small patch of wet on the road that came as quick as it went...but had me wondering the whole time "Even though I'm going relatively straight, can I still tumble somehow?"

With all this swelling in my overly newbie mind, what really should I be concerned about? Any tips for traversing the truly evil obstacles? Or is all the above just useless concern?

Ride Safe! I try to!

[Orpheus]

Sounds like you might be overly concerned; this bike handles really well in all conditions I've been in. The most extreme riding condition I've had the bike in was down in Puerto Peñasco Mexico. I went there with my girlfriend as a passenger on the back and we camped out on the beach; most of the roads to and from our campsite were dirt and sand, and the last 1/4 or 1/2 mile to the campsite was a drive along the sand on the beach. After that, I'm convinced that this bike can handle any road you come across, and probably better than most bikes twice its size.
Here's a pic:



Just last week, on my way home from work, a sprinkler system along the road had lost one of the sprinkler heads and was gushing water onto the street in the middle of the night; it was along a dark stretch of road and I didn't see it until I was right on top of it. I just kept going along maintaining the same speed (around 45mph) and I had absolutely no problems whatsoever, even though there was a good inch or two of water on the road. That's really my only experience with driving on water, since I live in the middle of a freakin' desert.

While I'm not saying you shouldn't be cautious, I'd say that you can relax a little and take it slow over the different types of terrain that you might encounter, in order to learn how it responds in case you come across a situation where you need to know it. One tip for sand and dirt/gravel: ride it like a dirt bike and keep your speed down and always be ready to put down your inside foot around corners in case the back tire gets loose on you.

I've also had it on washboard dirt roads, gravel roads, up and down mountains, pretty much everywhere this little bike can possibly go, it will go without problems.

[patrick_777]

This is a good question. You're probably over-thinking it a little, and it sounds like you're increasing your risk of a real problem by being overly cautious and taking wider turns to radically avoid obstacles. Understand that at speed, the bike WANTS to stand up straight. Even in a turn, unless acted upon by outside forces, the motorcycle cannot and will not just fall over. A motorcycle, not just the GZ, can usually ride through and handle almost anything thrown at it. It's the rider that needs to adjust to the ride, not the motorcycle.

At first, you might be a little cautious by slowing before the turn, more than an experienced rider would, but on the straights it's probably not necessary. Also remember not to target fixate. This can, and does, lead to a good portion of the single cycle accidents in the world. If you lock your eyes on an object or a point in the road and stare at it, you ARE going to put your front wheel over it. Always keep obstacles in your peripheral vision and watch where you WANT to go.

Read through some of the tips at this site, http://www.msgroup.org/articles.aspx, especially the ones on target fixation.

Our forum also provides a cache of information that I've seen duplicated elsewhere also.

Edited for grammar and spelling.

[Easy Rider]

Originally Posted by patrick_777

This is a good question.

And that was a good answer!

Going in a straight line, at reasonable speed, if you let the bike "coast" through a hazard, it is very,VERY unlikely that you will crash. The KEY is to NOT make any sudden movements and stay OFF the brakes. There are some exceptions, which most people will never encounter: Long stretches of ice or oil on the road and long stretches of marble-sized rock across the road. In almost every other situation, if you keep your cool, the bikes tires will "find" traction and will keep you upright.
A little of most anything is not likely to cause you a serious problem, even in a turn.......unless you are going in WAY too fast.

If you have any "real" gravel roads in your area, that is an excellent place to practice handling a "squirrley" bike.......at about 10-15 mph in 2nd gear. You quickly get an appreciation for slow and steady and for the back brake.

[Badbob]

Edge traps can instantly take you motorcycle away from you and put you on the ground.

Edge traps are the raised edges of bumps or cracks in a surface that can catch a motorcycle's tire and cause to loose control. Some extreme examples are ruts, rain gutters, and low shoulders. However, even lines painted on the road can be thick enough to cause you a problem.

Motorcycles steer by leaning causing the contact patch to move from the center to the side of the tire. Hitting an edge trap moves the contact patch to the side of the tire. This is effectively the same thing as leaning the motorcycle and the it turns in the direction of the trap. You can feel this by riding on the seam where two strips of asphalt meet. You will feel the the motorcycle squirm around as the uneven pavement causes the contact patch to move around. The greater the unevenness the greater the squirm. A large edge (edge trap) will literally take control away from you.

You can fall at a complete stop if your not careful where you put your feet. I almost feel over at a traffic light when I put my foot down in some antifreeze.

Anything that makes one or both of your wheels stop turning. For example: front wheel braking while turning on a loose surface such as gravel, sand, or leaves can stop the front wheel and put you on the ground in a flash.

Study and learn how your motorcycle works and you will be much more confident and a better/safer rider. The MSF course barely scratches the surface.

Read and learn from an expert:

Proficient Motorcycling: The Ultimate Guide to Riding Well
David L. Hough http://tinyurl.com/2bd228

More Proficient Motorcycling: Mastering the Ride

[johnsandlin]

[quote="Badbob"]Edge traps can instantly take you motorcycle away from you and put you on the ground.

You can fall at a complete stop if your not careful where you put your feet. I almost feel over at a traffic light when I put my foot down in some antifreeze.

Also be careful about the painted lines and striped on the road. I almost lost my footing when I stopped at light on top of a painted stripe. Put my foot down and it started to slide.

[countrydad]

The advice so far is great! Learn to enjoy riding, but remember that you assessed the risks of riding before you started and it was worth it. It is still worth it. I ride along 2 miles of gravel road every day, most of the hand line sprinklers and pivot end gun sprinklers (these put out amazing amounts of water) run over the road all night. It used to worry me, but like Easy said, you learn to appreciate how to handle a "squirley" bike and your rear brake. Bone up on how to ride in less than ideal conditions and practice! You'll enjoy riding more if you do.

[Badbob]

Gravel driveway hear too. With humps, bumps, pine needles, leaves, pine cones leaves, grass and some occasional trash or toys left ther buy the neighbors kids. Worse when its wet there is mud in a few spots. Some days from my house to the road is as bad as gets.

I ride dirt roads for the experience. OK, its fun too.

[rexolio]

Guys,

Thanks for all of this information. I must say, I struggle to not fixate on things in the road. It's one of my fears - hitting a pot hole or an object and being thrown. In fact, a squirrel ran out in front of me a couple of weeks ago... it hesitated for a second, then ran in front of me. Of course I was watching it and even though I wanted to avoid it, I hit it dead on. A small squirrel in a big road hit with a small tire - I learned then if I watch it - if I look at it - I WILL hit it.

The one thing that's a challenge for me is getting used to using the back brake. I depend mostly on the front. The back brake just seems odd to me... you have to move your foot off of the foot rest and onto the break (unless I'm doing it wrong) and it just seems like it would A) take too long to get any brake out of it in an emergency and B) it doesn't seem as quick to stop/brake as the front. Of course I don't follow close to people so I don't throw myself over the bars. But I can't get used to the rear brakes.

Anyone know of some good online sources for buying accessories like sissy bars, saddle bags, etc.?

[Water Warrior 2]

Originally Posted by rexolio

Guys,

Thanks for all of this information. I must say, I struggle to not fixate on things in the road. It's one of my fears - hitting a pot hole or an object and being thrown. In fact, a squirrel ran out in front of me a couple of weeks ago... it hesitated for a second, then ran in front of me. Of course I was watching it and even though I wanted to avoid it, I hit it dead on. A small squirrel in a big road hit with a small tire - I learned then if I watch it - if I look at it - I WILL hit it.

The one thing that's a challenge for me is getting used to using the back brake. I depend mostly on the front. The back brake just seems odd to me... you have to move your foot off of the foot rest and onto the break (unless I'm doing it wrong) and it just seems like it would A) take too long to get any brake out of it in an emergency and B) it doesn't seem as quick to stop/brake as the front. Of course I don't follow close to people so I don't throw myself over the bars. But I can't get used to the rear brakes.

Anyone know of some good online sources for buying accessories like sissy bars, saddle bags, etc.?

Two suggestions for you. If you haven't already, take a riders training course. You will learn how to use the rear brake in addition to when not to use the front in some instances. Never fear, you will not go over the bars under hard front braking and this is something you should practice. Also sounds like you may need to adjust the rear brake pedal to make it more user friendly. The rear brake light switch probably will need to be re-adjusted at the same time. The owners manual can help you with the adjustment points but ultimately make everything fit your foot.