Reviewing MY mororcycle safety thoughts

[solo1]

Retraining my brain this  slow afternoon.  Things that I've found out over the years that help me in riding.

DO NOT PROJECT (verb)  What does that mean?   If I'm riding and thinking about getting to a nice quiet picnic at the park, I'm projecting.  The business (correct word) of riding must take up all my mental time.  Projecting my thoughts means I'm not paying attention to what's going on around me and I could soon find myself being projected over or into a vehicle because I wasn't minding the business of riding.
Projecting is a close relative of COMPLACENCY.  Hell, I've done this route a thousand times, no excitement here.  Yeah right!  No excitement until that stupid cager turns left in front of you into a driveway.

These are my thoughts, might not make sense to you. Jes thinking out loud and reeducating myself out of complacency.

More to come. .02 worth.

Wayne

[DarkMeister]

That is bang-on. (No pun) 

Been reminding myself lately to FOCUS - all the time. No daydreaming, no sightseeing. E.g.: driving a riverside highway, spotted a salty going up-river. Cool! I'm eye-balling the ship. Glance back ahead - and I'm about to rear-end a van. A van I've been following for a half hour, from a safe distance, that reached his house and was turning into his driveway.
Or the wife piping up from the back seat" Wow! Did you see that deer on the shoulder?". Nope - I was home in my mind, cracking a Perrier and putting my feet up.

Takes but a second of inattention to have a life-changing moment.

[Super Santa]

Inattention will bite you in the butt.  Pay attention to the business at hand.

[ValkFlyer]

Solo 1....You are right on the mark......and I'm just 4 days into setting the example....enjoy the ride but avoid PROJECTING as you've stated it.  

If I might add, practice riding skills, turning, braking, maneuvering around objects, stay in tune with your surroundings, and as I was recently reminded...allow, if possible, more than enough room between you and the cage in front of you.  

One last comment... and I know many don't agree with it.....Helmet,  I'd be dead, paralyzed, or just plain uglier than I already am if I'd not been wearing mine last Thursday. As my "riding brothers" so to speak, I hope that you'll avoid allowing the testosterone that has a tendency to go to ones' brain cloud your judgement.  Saying "It won't happen to me" is nothing more than words....Really, you may be a great rider...but you've only got so much control over a situation.  There's always room for someone else to make the error that will impact you.  Ride SAFE my brothers.

[old2soon]

Wayne-those ideas/hints/reflections are spot on. On the poker run yesterday i let the large groups go. Stayed off by my lonesome. And after i got my hand-found about 1/3 of the riders had stayed at the barley water dispensers a tad to long. Not totally avoidable actually-the 3 middle card draws were at bars. My point-waited til i got back home and scoot in garage BEFORE i imbibed. Thanks for the pointers wayne. RIDE SAFE.

[Lyn-Del]

And these are the reasons I'm taking a car to a bike rally next week.  It's so bloody hot out there, I cannot focus on the job at hand - staying alive.  So I'm opting out of taking the bike, and will drive and enjoy spending time with friends anyway.

[valkyriemc]

If you want to get an education, go do some high speed practice stops. Fast stops. I start around 40 and go up. Never ran in to anybody that didn't think they couldn't stop quick. Including me. But if you don't practice hauling a big bike down under control, when you need it, it may be dicy when you do.  

[Gryphon Rider]

I agree with all of the sentiments expressed here before this post.  This spring I was thinking about something other than my ride and I totally missed seeing the red light until the pickup coming from the right blasted his horn and stopped just before crossing my path.  I practice emergency braking every spring with my Valk, and with various small bikes as a motorcycle instructor throughout the riding season.  I was doing 40 MPH when I crossed the near crosswalk and got stopped 10 or 12 feet before where the pickup would have been if it hadn't stopped.  The driver said MY life flashed before HIS eyes!

I've posted this link before, regarding the braking methods (and the Valkyrie's stopping ability vs. sport bike):
http://www.motorcyclecruiser.com/streetsurvival/0608_crup_effective_braking/index.html

[solo1]

The one thing that might've not been stressed in the article is that you must train yourself in applying light pressure on the front brake for an instant until the weight transfers to the front and then apply heavy pressure. If maximum pressure is applied before weight transfer, the front wheel could lock up depending on how powerful the brakes are.

[fudgie]

I must be a little different.  I ride alot to clear my head and do alot of thinking. I can be focused on thoughts and still pay attention. Rather ride and think then to think over a brown bottle. Maybe my job helps me to do hands on and thinking at the same time.

[HayHauler]

Thanks for posting this Wayne and for the link GR...  I know my practice in parking lots has paid off for me in more ways than one.

Hay 
Jimmyt