5 DUMBEST Ways to Get Hurt on a Motorcycle

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[thedarkknight]

Being an ex-ROSPA/DSA Motorcycle Training Instructor (here in the UK), I used to guide my trainees with FOUR BASIC concepts... YOU, YOUR BIKE, YOUR RIDING and WEATHER...

1 - YOU :-
A - When buying a new helmet, IF you buy one that is COMFORTABLY a REAL SNUG FIT, DO NOT WORRY, as over time, IT WILL conform to YOUR head (that's another reason why buying second hand helmets is a NO NO (the main one is, you DON'T know if it's been dropped or been in an accident etc)
B - Jackets, trousers (pants for you yanks lol) and boots, take a jumper/cardigan/thick top (for a jacket), or, thick jogging bottoms (for trousers/pants), or, thick socks (for boots) with you when buying gear, as, you want whatever particular garment to fit you COMFORTABLY ENOUGH to be the right size BUT capable for you to wear an extra layer underneath for the colder days.
But in ALL cases, TRY to buy the BEST YOU CAN AFFORD (check reviews etc etc) as it could very well help prevent more injuries than necessary.
ALSO... Leather is STILL king! (It's a second skin afterall) and if it's backed up by decent padding etc, then IT WILL serve you well...

2 - YOUR BIKE :-
'Look after your bike and it will look after you'... Meaning, DO check your tyre pressures and condition (they are the LAST contact between you/your bike and the tarmac). EVEN THE MOST BASIC maintenance WILL help keep you and your bike riding happily, so, oil/oil filter, air filter, spark plugs, chains & sprockets, control cables, battery, bulbs etc, keep them in good condition/working order, it is, after all, a right pain in the bum being stuck at the side of the road. However, there IS a biker 'bretheren' - 'Code' that you might find helpful as generally, bikers can be helpful when they see someone broken down... And IF you've been helped this way, TRY TO 'Pay it forward'... **

3 - YOUR RIDING :-
'THERE IS A TIME AND PLACE FOR PACE!' - Hairing around at stupid speeds around built up areas, city/town streets, school zones and such makes you look a d!ck and gives the rest of us an UNWANTED BAD NAME, we already have to battle against car drivers, truck/Bus etc drivers, the Police, and the Government, so, WHY ADD TO IT??? Quiet/clear country lanes? Maybe. Anywhere where there's less traffic? Yeah, maybe. HAVE FUN BUT DON'T GO NUTS! RIDE WITHIN YOUR OWN SKILL LIMITS! REMEMBER.... There's ONLY TWO LITTLE rubber contact patches between you and that painfully hard road surface, or a solid chuck of metal on 4 wheels, or a bone breaking tall tree etc etc etc...

4 - THE WEATHER :-
Try, if you can, to ride IN ALL WEATHERS... As ANY 'Time served' biker will tell you (me personally - 35 years in Sunny, Cloudy, Rainy Hail, Snow Sh!t, Snot, the lot) WILL help you get a feel of how you and your bike 'Feels' in these conditions. Riding in adverse weather conditions DOES help you become a better rider overall, it hones your skills and reactions.
Vitally, BE FULLY AWARE OF WHAT'S AROUND YOU... Other vehicles (over time you will hone your peripheral vision and visual awareness). The road, black tar strips, drain/man hole covers, wet leaves, frost/ black ice (sadly the latter a scarily hidden danger), camber, uneven road surfaces, and... Sadly more commonly nowadays, the absolutely diabolical way the roads are being maintained (here in the UK Councils/Road maintenace crews just do a CHEAP ASS JOB by dumping a load of sticky gravel down over vast areas of the roads and expect road users with their vehicles to 'Flatten it down' - BLOODY DANGEROUS as stone chips get flung up from car/truck tyres, so both a BIG RISK to motorcyclists and cyclists, AND, makes the riding 'Squirelly' if you come across a freshly dumped, ahem 😒 'Resurfacing job', and the road surface NEVER BLOODY LASTS THOUGH! 🤬🤬).

But anyway, those are the basics I used to teach, and, I hoped each time with my trainees, that at least keeping some of that in mind helped them become safer and ultimately, happier riders (and hopefully LONG TERM too!). 👍

** -Oh and one last thing... LET US PLEEEEAAAASE rid ourselves of this biking SNOBBERY! NO MATTER what you ride, Custom, Cruiser, Harley, BMW, Ducati, Race bike, Crosser, Street bike, Scooter, Vespa, WHATEVER... WE ARE ALL TWO WHEELERS, WE ALL have to battle against as described (other 4, 6 - 18 wheelers, Police and the Governments often oppressive, controlling ways... So, please, wave, nod, acknowledge your fellow biker no matter what they ride, and take the time to at least stop and ask "Are you alright?/Need a hand?" when another 2 wheeler as stuck at the side of the road, after all, you'd want help too if you were stuck wouldn't you?

RIDE SAFE, RIDE FREE my fellow biker brothers and sisters!! 👍🙂
🦇😎🦇 🇬🇧

[Chadcow]

Number 6. Riding at night with a tinted visor! Lol

[Ascendedninja]

I'm looking into getting a bike after a ten year hiatus, but one of the things I made a habit of is looking at the front tires of cars to see what the drivers intention is. It took some practice to learn, but it gave me a heads up and enough time to respond.

[andydragon]

Riding the centre of the lane can be unsafe - debris and oil can accumulate in the centre where cars are not keeping the lane clear and clean. The tire patches where cars normally drive is the cleanest part of the road and riding in one of those two patches is safer. The oil accumulation can also really compound the lack of traction when rain first starts.

[File]

Man alive! It's so difficult to find a proper fitting gear for me as a tall guy. When sleeves are proper length, the rest of the jacket is too loose. But when the jacket fits properly, the sleeves are too short. I then have to find a good size gauntlet gloves to cover the gap, but after you move around for a while it doesn't really work... And the same thing with pants, but thankfully, I recently found good pants in a store online from Sweden (by accident; I randomly Googled motorcycle pants with my size, and it turned up), after I looked in a number of stores across half of my country. Europe, I guess, with its usual limited options... Especially Croatia.

[soldat]

1. Wearing Gear - correct, it's not all about looking cool, or being able to afford high-end gear. It's about your safety and survivability when (not if) you crash. I personally know guys who are now dead, but they rode for decades, one 35 years or more, without an incident until the day they did. That last guy always had a half-helmet and I never saw a pic of him wearing full gear. We'll never know if his choice to not wear proper gear could have saved him. He's dead. Cheaper but quality gear is available - you just have to look through sales bins, and after-season or close-out specials. You may not be all matchy matchy, but you'll get good gear at lower prices.

2. Correct sized gear - this should really just be combined into #1 but the point is valid. Thanks for pointing out the need to have your passenger protected. Very often the passenger gets the owner's extra helmet, no gloves, no jacket, etc.

3. Driving defensively/driving for conditions - I think that's what you're trying to convey. There are many reasons why cars don't see you or drive like they are trying to kill you, Ryan F9's video is the best one yet if you haven't seen it. Driving for conditions means slowing down in heavy traffic, intersections, unfamiliar roads, bad weather, etc. There have millions of videos of perfectly preventable accident showing rides driving too fast (usually) for conditions - most of those involve heavy traffic, but there are plenty of riders on unfamiliar roads going too fast and hitting gravel or wet leaves, etc.

4. Group rides - don't when you're a new rider, that's my advice. This is a very good point. Pair up with a buddy who is at your level, or understands your skill level. I always, always tell whomever I ride with to, "Ride your own ride. Don't try to do what I do if you're the least bit uncomfortable. I will always wait for you, pull off to the side and get back together." Stay away from group rides, period if your new because very few people run rides like you point out with the least experienced in the front. The inexperienced always try and keep up with the show-offs and YouTube is packed with videos of riders going too fast into corners, shooting wide, target fixating, or high or low-siding. If you must, ride in a group, your advice is very good - hang back and know your limits. Save the showboating and speeding for a track day.

5. Green doesn't mean go - another great point. Motorcyclists love to gun it, looking at that light with intensity and eager to take off. In Europe, where I live, the light often goes from Red, to yellow, then green. Sort of like a ready, set, GO! Take that extra second to ensure there are no late "orange" light runners. This is probably the number one cause of accident I see in Rome. Scooters mostly, taking off immediately and getting clipped by a light runner.

These are very practical and simple concepts.

[JoshuuaLee]

Thank you so much for this, I'm going in to my 6th year of riding and I know and think about all of these things now, but the memories of being a new rider are still fresh in my mind. I just wanted to say great video, I appreciate you for being a good example, and for spreading really important information. You may never know that you saved a life by making videos like these.

[Ride_n]

Great points on all 5. Thanks for helping to spread the word to help others.

[markfisher]

Excellent video, including such a beautiful sunset evening! Thank you for all you do to keep other motorcyclists safe and informed! Safe journeys to you!

[dbrockha]

Dr. Lali killing it in the postdoc era!!!!😊

[DàvidNewton-uq]

I started riding in 1971 and still ride. You pretty much covered it all especially about group riding, i don't do it anymore for exactly the reasons you mentioned. The last time was enough for me when riders started to over take in the on coming lane on the brough of a hill, totally blind to oncoming traffic suicidal in my opinion.

[clemc]

Great video @Lali Thank you. I always appreciate videos like this.

The motorcycle is at greater risk of being hit by a left turning car at an intersection when it’s the 2nd vehicle and the first is a car or truck. The reason is that the left turning car waits for the lead vehicle to go by and assumes the gap behind it is big enough to get through before the 3rd vehicle comes along. The trouble is the “gap” is actually a motorcycle.

The way to protect ourselves is to ride in the left part of the lane so the oncoming vehicle sees us as a motorcycle and not a gap.

Hope this helps someone. I only just learned it recently and have been riding forever.

Ride safe brothers and sisters ❤

[abhishekpm]

I have been a subscriber for quite some time. It's wonderful to see your channel grow steadily. I am guilty of not having watched your videos recently, but this video brought a smile to my face. As always, I loved the video. Very well made.

[mygreatbigfoot]

I’m not going with the stealthy matt-black helmet and ppe tbh. I’m not a Ninja, i want to lend no justification to the: “Sorry I didn’t see you..”.

[ross.]

Keeping both hands on the bars is a pretty good way to lower the risk of being injured on a bike too.
(Especially in a built-up area)

[Dvdemon]

Beautiful sunset! All your of safety points are completely valid and yet there's so much more to worry about. Best thing we can do is keep developing that sixth sense and awareness. Relax and scan the road ahead, and even behind when stopped at lights. Great tip is to never stop in the middle of cars bumpers so you have room to escape to the side. Better yet filter to the front so you can't get rear ended by the drive not paying attention. Happens more than you think. Keep up the great work Lali 🤙🏻

[Steve-Kratz]

Great tips Lali. I'm 52, on my 3rd year riding, and these are all common sense things that should come to all riders. New riders could easily omit some of these from their habits, and pay for it.

An extra one: Assume any open spot on a multi-lane road is going to have some cager eyeballing that spot as well, beware!

[danielbriggs]

Thanks for your content! Appreciate a PA (yes, Pennsylvania) perspective and scenery!

[GusOutferaryde]

Omg that sunset!!! 🌅 Sage advice, as well.

[jasonkendrick]

On a recent long ride through Vermont, instead of the normal left-handed wave, a passing motorcyclist gave a hand and foot at the same time. Idea formulated. A both hands and both feet wave to the next biker i saw, but time to quickly practice the new enthusiastic wave first. Well, the feet from the pegs caused the suspension to bounce and the engine breaking from removing the hand(s) knocked me even further off balance. Panickingly and unevenly grabbing the bars, then resulted in a bit of a speed wobble i recovered from. The normal wave is smart 😂 but keep at least 2 or 3 points of contact on the controls.