Another example would be putting down the kickstand while dismounting the bike only to find that the side stand wasn’t fully extended into its locked position, which leaves the bike unsupported as it falls over.

Or, as in the example in the photo above and in the video below, a friend (Lance) dropping his bike when the front tire got hung up in some soft sand, while riding slowly. We were on a 1600 mile, 5-day, Central and Northern California ride and were on our way to a National Forest campsite when the dirt road turned into soft sand.

He was not injured, nor was the bike damaged. And he demonstrated the attitude of a true professional: “Oh well, I’ll handle this better next time.” And when we headed back out of the forest the next morning, he had no problem with the same difficult spot in the dirt road.

I mentioned to Lance that it happens to many riders and it’s not a big deal (he considers himself a relatively new rider). It certainly has happened to me a number of times over the years and it usually just results in some momentary embarrassment, with no personal injury, although sometimes bike damage does occur.

But it left me wondering: How often does it really happen to other riders? And how many riders are willing to confess to momentary lapses of good control, in an otherwise non-threatening situation?

It doesn’t seem to take long for some beginning motorcyclists to consider themselves competent riders. I know I thought I was reasonable good within my first few thousand miles or so, back in the 70′s. But after several hundred thousand miles under my belt, and the recognition that I still consider I’m learning, I sometimes wonder how I survived those first years.

The point is that many riders consider themselves to be in good control of their bikes at all times. But the concept of letting it fall over while stopped, or nearly stopped, seems to belie such a notion – even if only for an instant.

Regardless, if you are willing to share such hapless moments on your own bike, please add your experiences below regarding how often you have found yourself picking up your motorbike after it tipped over when you were stopped, or almost stopped, or even just getting going….

Due to the severity of his road rash and mangled flesh, he is being treated as a burn victim.

The incident resulted from a hit-and-run driver. Witnesses say the offending vehicle violated this rider’s right-of-way and sped off after smashing into this motorcyclist and catapulting him through the air. The rider was brought to the Intensive Care Unit of the local hospital and placed in a temporarily induced coma while they cleaned and removed the dirt and gravel embedded into the abrasions and lacerated flesh that encompassed 25% of his body.

Because the contents of his pockets were strewn widely upon impact, and therefore no identification was with him when he arrived at the hospital, he was admitted as a John Doe (unknown person).

Accordingly, family could not be notified of his circumstances.

When he didn’t arrive home that night or to work the next day, it took over 24 hours for family to track him down via phone calls to police and area hospitals. (They were looking for a specific person, not a “John Doe.”)

To make matters more interesting, it turns out he does not have a motorcycle license or insurance (both required by law in California) and he had been drinking beer.

He was issued a citation for Driving under the Influence (DUI).

Based upon the severity of flesh damage, a reader might wonder what this young rider was wearing when he went down.

The answer: not much.

He was riding in shorts and a T-shirt. (Although he was wearing his helmet, which is also required by law in California).

The hospital care he is receiving costs $25,000 per day.

It should be noted that he owns a leather jacket with armor reinforcements and other riding gear and I usually observed him wearing such when riding. (Although I had also seen him riding in short pants).

One more interesting fact: He had just purchased his street motorcycle a few weeks earlier. (Although he did have prior dirt-bike riding experience).

When aroused from his morphine sleep, he said “I’ll never ride a motorcycle again.” The future will prove that true or not, but I would guess that if he does take to two wheels again, he will wear his gear.

Except in states that require helmets, any motorcyclist has the privilege to choose to wear whatever he or she deems appropriate. But I think the risk is high for any new riders, and especially young riders, who may not have gained the necessary respect that should be accorded to the potential dangers of street riding, and instead are solely intoxicated by its pleasures.

This rider made a number of mistakes.  Among them, one could speculate that had he not been drinking in the first place, he might have been able to avoid the accident, even though the official responsibility is imputed to the driver who left the scene of the accident.

Although the circumstances surrounding this incident may provoke varied perspectives, it should be emphasized that this rider did survive and in time, he is expected to recover and he will likely be wiser in the future.

This event reminds me of the numerous mistakes I made as a young rider.  At  times I have wondered how I survived those early years.  Regardless, I do have a more respectful attitude then back then and as much as I still enjoy riding, and could not imagine giving it up for anything, I have much more experience and better gear than when I was a kid.  (And I’ve survived a few accidents myself).

Wishing you safe riding!

(Click “Leave a Reply” below to contribute your comments, insights and experience.)

Although individual perspectives about motorcycle safety are diverse, generally they can be expressed relative to a concept of “I’m a good rider”.

I’m a Good Rider

1) On one end of the motorcycle safety spectrum is the notion that “I’m a good rider. I won’t crash.” That can be translated to mean that motorcycle safety is less of a concern, since one wouldn’t require much protection if he/she were to never crash.

2) Another end of the spectrum is the concept that “I’m a good rider. But I don’t know about every other driver on the road.” The central idea here is that on any ride, on any day, there is the potential to crash or be hit by some inattentive driver.

These two views could be imagined as opposite ends of a spectrum with varying gradients of considerations between.

Motorcycle Rider Fate

There’s an additional consideration, or cliche, that expresses another viewpoint about two types of motorbike riders: “Those that have gone down, and those that will.”

Although this viewpoint is not shared by all motorcyclists, per force, it can only exist within the second half of the “I’m a good rider safety spectrum.” In other words, no rider who entertains the first belief that “I’m a good rider, I won’t crash” cannot also hold an idea that it is fate that every biker will ultimately go down.

So, where do your beliefs fall within this spectrum?

That’s somewhat of a trick question, because regardless of what you may “think” or even “say” about motorcycle safety, the true answer is reflected in what you wear when you ride.

Motorcycle Protective Gear

Your safety beliefs are evident by your riding gear. If you believe you are a good rider and you won’t crash, you probably won’t place a priority on wearing any or all of the following:

♦ Full-Face Motorcycle Helmet
♦ Full Motorcycle Gloves (Not half gloves)
♦ Good Motorcycle Boots
♦ A Good Quality Motorcycle Jacket with armor
♦ Motorcycle Pants or Chaps (Ideally, with armor)

On the other hand, if you are at the other end of the spectrum and believe you are a good rider but are not confident about everyone else on the road, you likely will be wearing some or all of the above.

What’s the Best Motorcycle Safety Philosophy?

Reality is uncompromisingly revelatory: Bikers crash every day. Too many motorcyclists get killed. Every day.

And yet as humans many of us believe that “Crashing won’t happen to me.” Which means every rider who has crashed and/or been killed was likely thinking a similar thing: “It won’t ever happen to me.”

The good new is that some percentage of riders will be right: “It won’t happen to them.”  Carry on!

But how do you “know” you’ll never go down?

What if it’s possible that some day you might crash?

What should you be wearing on that day?

A little reflection on how to improve one’s likelihood of enjoying riding as long as possible would include the philosophy of embracing the following safety points:

♦ Wearing protective gear
♦ Increasing one’s riding skills (study, training, practice)
♦ Gaining lots of riding experience! (Ideally, while developing good riding habits)

By the way, what about bikers who don’t consider they are a good rider in the first place?

Although that concept should easily encompass brand-new riders, I don’t actually recall ever meeting anyone who considered that they were “not” a good rider – completely independent of their experience.

What are your views on motorcycle safety? (Add your perspective below).

Regardless, as I’ve thought about this from time to time (well, factually, I’ve not thought about it too much at all), it occurs to me that at least one common trait among “successful” motorcycle riders (those that have been riding for many years), would have to be their awareness of the road, and especially their awareness of other drivers on the road. Although such awareness cannot guarantee long-term rider survival, I would say it’s a factor that would separate out temporary, or short-term riders, from long-time riders.

Stated more directly, it’s certainly possible that a rider can be taken out, in spite of a pretty acute driver awareness, since it’s common for motorcycles to be smashed by automobiles that have violated the biker’s right-of-way.

Acute Rider Sensitivity to Road and Drivers

Having said that, if a rider does “not” have an acute sensitivity to on-the-road situational awareness, he/she is almost guaranteed to be taken out by an inattentive driver, sooner or later.

Stated another way, show me a motorcyclist who maintains a similar degree of situational awareness on a motorcycle that many drivers are accustomed to in a car, and I will show you a short-term rider. A motorcycle rider simply does not have the luxury of being as inattentive as may be observed among many drivers we share the road with.

On the other hand, show me any motorcyclist with a whole bunch of miles and riding experience under their belt, and I’ll show you a rider who has an unusually acute sensitivity to what is happening moment-to-moment in front of, and behind him/her, on the road.

(Conversely, show me a motorcycle rider who also drives a car, and I’ll show you an automobile driver who is more aware of their driving environment than the vast majority of other drivers).

Acute situational awareness of one’s riding environment means being able to avoid quite a number of potentially bad riding circumstances by foreseeing drivers moving into your right-of-way, and simultaneously changing your course, to get out of the way.

Even short-term riders soon learn that it doesn’t matter who is legally right or not, in terms of the laws of the road, since motorcycle riders get the short end of the stick in most confrontations with 4-wheeled vehicles.

From my view, acute situational awareness simply equates to a greater control of one’s self, environment and future, which I would argue, equates to a greater control of one’s life.

Well, OK, that may be stretching things too far, but at least I could more confidently argue that it equates to a greater control of one’s riding and motorcycling experience and staying alive. If you want to stretch that further to consider it also means greater control of one’s non-motorcycle life, I’ll leave that up to you.

Common Motorcycle Characteristics?

The more I ride, and the more I speak with other riders, the more I am aware that there are as many different rider personality characteristics as there are riders. Therefore, at least at this moment, I can not seem to come up with any other “common” characteristics among riders.

But maybe you can.

What would YOU say are common characteristics among motorcycle riders you have become acquainted with? (Add your comments below).