....September 2007

....

....You’ve seen commercials on TV that advertise motorcycles where they show bikes riding inches apart from each other in a tight formation like the Blue Angels. That looks very cool on TV, but that's not the way you want to ride…trust me!

....The experienced rider’s I know separate themselves from each other when riding in any condition other than a clean straight road with few intersections. Of course I have riding buddies that I can ride side by side with but I know these guys and their riding abilities I trust them, some of them I have been riding with for years. The point is it's important to "ride your own ride," especially when you don’t have a clue about the riding skills of those in front of you and behind you.

....Look for the signs, if the rider ahead of you is skilled, he will be looking far ahead, following good cornering lines and sometimes tapping the brakes to reduce speed so he can avoid a potential hazard way up in front of him and warn the riders behind him to be alert, more importantly he will be using good clear hand signals. Other riders might be more or less skilled than you are. If he "or they" are just riding stupid and beyond his means, he can sucker you into a problem. Either way its not the best idea to ride in formation with someone you don’t know. Its smarter to drop back and observe, let him ride his own ride.

....But what about the guy who comes up behind you and sticks to your tail? There are riders or so called riders who just don’t and never will get it, any rider who tailgates you is a risk. Here is where we separate the seasoned rider from the clueless. The seasoned rider will take charge of the situation and force a separation by pulling to the right of the lane on a straight away and wave the guy on, you could have just given him the hand signal to back off, but I would prefer to have a guy like that in front of me rather than behind me so I can keep an eye on him.

....The roads I love the most are the ones with a lot of twists and turns. When you're on a road like that, open up some space between riders and use the whole lane. This will allow each rider to follow cornering lines that maximize traction and improve the view. You could use the hand signal for single file and start using the whole lane with the first curve, the other riders will get the idea. When the road straightens out again you can resume the staggered position.   

Always remember: "Don’t ever let any other rider set the pace for you."

***** TRIVIA QUESTION OF THE MONTH *****
We all know the hand signals for left & right turns, single file, and slow down.
What does it mean when you see the rider in front of you give a foot signal by extending their left or right foot ???




Look for the answer on page 83 in next months issue of
"Full Throttle Magazine."






Answer To Last Month's Trivia Question:

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"Live to Ride or Step Aside"
Written by Bo
"The Hog Shoppe"