Any motorcycle commuters here?

[Aaron Rosenthal]

A Harley rider chimeing in here. Riding since '71, almost everywhere in the world except South America and Asia.
All the above great suggestions.
Here, you cannot get a license without an approved rider course (I'm grandfathered thank the deity). Take a riders course. Also, get into an advanced rider low speed handling course - search engine for one in your area.
Im 73 and I just cannot stop riding. Have fun.

[Steve Burke]

While riding in the right lane of a 4 lane road, stay in the left portion of the road. If you are in the left lane stsy in the right portion of the road, you aremore visable to drivers and have room to manuver if needed.
Never ride in the center of any lane, thats where the cars drop oil onto the road.
When coming to an intersection that has a vehicle waiting to go, glance to see where the driver is looking, and watch for movement of the front wheels. That will tell you if they are moving.

[John K Jordan]

I used to, but not for years. It was great fun and fuel costs were so cheap.

If new to motorcycles, practice practice practice. Take the bike to a big empty parking lot and practice starting/stopping, pretending to pull out onto a road while turning both ways, accelerating/braking, gentle and hard braking in a curve, emergency stops, sudden swerves. Take someone with you to help pick up a heavy bike when it falls over (I've seen it happen). Practice on roads with almost no traffic. Practice staying exactly where you want in a lane during a curve, especially one with a tightening curvature (spiral). I've watched beginners run off or nearly run off the road on such curves before they learned to anticipate and control.

If your state doesn't require a helmet, wear one anyway.

I rode in all seasons and weather. In the winter, good clothing is essential, gauntlet gloves for the hands.

A heavy leather jacket saved my skin once on a slide on pavement. (wet spot on tight curve, sun in the eyes but that was no excuse)

I always drove road bikes as if I were invisible. I EXPECTED trucks to pull into my lane and was always ready for it. I expected cars to pull out in front of me and people to step off the curb even in the middle of the block.

Be oh so careful, every second. An emergency room doctor friend told too many stories. At some point I discovered enduro and dirt bikes and gave up the road lottery.

JKJ

[andrew whicker]

I have that bike! Rode it from Utah to Indiana and back last summer!

Agreed with the:

- safety course
- parking lots
- rural roads
- full synthetic gear is nice (breathable outer plus rain proof / warmer removable inside)
- full face helmet
- panniers are sweet (grocery shopping is more fun)
- don't put armorall tire shine chemical on your tires. It's slippery.
- buy tires online to save money

Have fun. Great hobby. Learn wheelies. Buy a track only sport bike and do track days.

: )

[Bob Glenn]

Don't buy in to that "loud pipes save lives" crap. Loud pipes are illegal and extenuate the bad biker image. Just sayin...........

[Perry Hilbert Jr]

Commuted to a job on my Moto Guzzi in my younger years. Only went about 12 miles each way on busy two lane highways through several small towns. One after noon, an old lady just pulled out from a burger joint and stopped dead across my lane. Down I went. I wasn't hurt but the guzzi was majorly mashed up when it slid into an oncoming truck. Never went back to riding. Thought about it many times. (Bystanders started yelling at me, for some reason, but a police officer in his car across the street saw everything and got them to shut up.) I found out at the traffic hearing that the kids took the lady's keys and car away from her. Apparently three accidents in 5 months.

[andrew whicker]

I had an old lady pull over into my lane on a highway. I just 'merged' onto the rumble strip / break down lane. As I was passing her I looked at her and she gave ME the finger!

Haha, you're always at fault when you ride a motorcycle.

[Mike Ontko]

I commuted for 15-years, first for two years on a Kawasaki KZ750 Spectre and then on a ZG1000-A13 Concours for the rest of that time. I really miss the riding but the daily ride got to be a little long, especially here in the Pacific Northwest where the roads can be wet and potentially slick for a good portion of the year. Auto drivers seemed to get crazier and crazier as well, but maybe that was just me turning into a gheezer over time.

KawasakiConcours_ZG1000-A13.jpg

I haven't read through the entire post yet, so excuse me if I repeat anything.

If you've got the money and time, I'd recommend taking a motorcycle safety course. Even if you're an experienced rider already, there's always something helpful that you can pick up from the classroom and on-bike sessions.

For whatever bike you decide to get, buy the best tires you can afford...even if you can't afford them. With only two tires making contact (hopefully at all times) the quality of the rubber, tread design, and wear are key to keeping you safe and in-touch with the road surface.

If you're going to be riding regularly, invest in good protective riding gear. Jacket, pants, helmet, eye protection, gloves, boots, etc. And, make sure you've got what you need for any season that you plan to be riding in. My daily suit was a kevlar type (Marsee). I think they wear better, breathe better, and hold up to the elements much better. Leave the leather and WWII German infantry helmet to the ones who are riding their solar powered recliners.

Maintain your bike. I'm sure it goes without saying that regular maintenance including daily checks of your brakes, lights, fluids, etc. will help ensure that your daily rides will be a little more enjoyable. It's certainly no fun to be stuck on the side of the road in full gear on a 90+ degree day because your air cooled bike has a collapsed fuel line. Don't ask me how I know this.

Saddle bags are almost a necessity for daily commuting. If your bike doesn't come with them, then buy the best aftermarket set you can afford, preferably hard shell (less prone to leaks). A bike with a fairing is a nice thing as well, especially if you're riding in the rain.

It's also worth mentioning that I lost two friends, who were both regular commuters, to accidents that were both completely avoidable. In both cases, each driver was going too fast for the conditions or situation. One tried making a stop light about to turn red and met a left-turning 4x4, and the other was simply taking a turn at too high a speed coming off the highway. Know your bike and always be aware of your surroundings! The acronymn SIPDE is a good thing to know as well, which you'll learn when you take the safety course.

Happy...and safe riding!

[Chris Padilla]

Do you motorcyclists split lanes?

I had a run in a year or two ago with a motorcyclist who, I'm guessing, felt I was trying to 'pinch' him as he split a lane on my right.

Honestly, I didn't see the guy until he was on my front fender and wildly gesturing at me. My wife and I were like, "Huh? What's this guy's problem?"

So he got into the lane to my right and he kept waving me forward at which time he then hung on my rear bumper. So then I understood what he was (likely) upset about.

He follows us as I exit and my wife and I are trying to think of the nearest police station to drive to as there was no way I was heading home with this guy following us obviously upset. At the next light, I lose sight of him and then up pulls up to my wife's window and start hollering at us, many expletives, suggestions of what he'd like to do to us, etc. It got quite scary and I wish I had thought to get my phone out and record the whole thing but I did not. He got zero reaction from us but I was staring at him to see if he was going to do something to the car and then he pounded the door glass scaring the crap out of my wife and then the light changed and we took off and I lost sight of him again. We spent the next 15 minutes taking a very long and arbitrary ride home gathering ourselves and hoping this lunatic wasn't following us. Blah....

I'm not fond of the lane-splitting stuff and apparently it is legal (here in CA) but under 30 mph; we were doing easily 60+ when our incident happened. I would say that splitting is usually done at 30+ around here. I dunno...I find it quite dangerous. I can understand the temptation but it sure looks dicey to me at these high speeds. In stop 'n go, it is no big deal.

[Michael Weber]

As a biker that's embarrassing to read. Some people just act like anyone that causes the slightest inconvenience is out to get them and take it WAY too personal. You did the right thing in not confronting this idiot. I guess some car drivers do the same. Oh, and no I have never lane split. Consider it an accident waiting to happen. Don't know if it's legal here or not.

[Peter Kelly]

Lane splitting is only legal in one state, California.

Utterly stupid thing to do at any speed, especially 60+ mph.

[Chris Padilla]

Very interesting, Peter. I had thought that it was accepted elsewhere. I saw it all the time in Europe when we were there for a month vacationing BUT it was mostly in cities where vehicle speeds tend to be low. Can't say that it happened much, if at all, out on the main roads there.

But I agree, I think it is a bad precedent to set.

[Peter Kelly]

It can get pretty uncomfortably hot and annoying sitting there waiting for traffic to move in LA or SF so I get why the state of CA decided to develop guidelines around it. Just too many distracted automobile drivers out there these days for it to be safe in anything but completely stopped traffic imo.

[Dennis Peacock]

Congrats!
#1 - Take the Motorcycle Safety Foundation course....THEN practice everything you learned in the course at least once each quarter...especially the stuff you learned about brake and swerve as well as emergency braking.
#2 - Ride like EVERYBODY can't see you. My safety instructor was a nationally license motorcycle cop instructor. I asked him, "Hey, what do YOU do to make people see you on the highway?" His reply? Let me tell you this...if they don't see a 900 pound Harley with Red/Blue lights flashing and a super loud siren blasting and all this not 100 feet from them? Then I don't care what you do to your bike...they simply aren't going to see you and THIS is why I teach to ride like nobody can see you.
#3 - I've been riding for over 50 years. I'd been riding for over 35 years when I took the MSF course and I learned SO MUCH that it actually saved my life 4 times in the first year after I took the course.
#4 - If you do not PRACTICE your emergency and safety maneuvers after you learn them? Then what good did the safety course do you if you don't practice and learn to master those life saving skills?
#5 - Wear a "good" helmet and GREAT eye protection. Rocks and things thrown from tires can take out an eye...even through RayBan sunglasses. I know a biker that lost an eye due to a rock getting picked up and thrown from the road into his sunglasses and took out an eye.
#6 - Most of All.....Ride Safe and ENJOY the ride! I love riding and I love it for my commute.

The Versys is a great bike! My Son-in-law has one and he absolutely LOVES it....and he's had MANY motorcycles in his years of riding. I have had 23 different motorcycles since I first started riding. The bike I have and am still riding is a 1997 Honda Valkyrie Tour. It's a LOT of bike with a LOT of squeal factor (because it's a 1,500 CC flat 6 engine) but it rides better than my living room couch.

Any other questions? Ask me via PM and I'll do all I can to answer and help.

[Rod Sheridan]

No Chris I don't split lanes, it's illegal where I live................Regards, Rod.