[Silverflash]

Originally Posted by basuroy

My contribution to the thread and the above discussion -

Dogs are very unpredictable and let me describe 3 incidents -
1. dog sleeping by side of road just ahead of a turn , bike doing 25/30 approaching said turn when he decides to yelp and jump right in front , low speed allowed me to brake some more and evade . Lesson learnt is they are unpredictable .
2. dog on sidewalk , a boy with his father 10 feet further down sidewalk . Boy says shoo with throwing motion , do jumps off sidewalk and lands straight in front of me , 40kmph speed without time for brake , I simply ride straight , hit him and front wobbles but regain control fast . Dog seems fine - lesson learnt is ride straight .

Post these incident , I by second nature now dump speed when I see dogs especially packs or those who are in motion .

3. Night riding , 50kmph speed when dog suddenly out of bush starts crossing road 10 feet away , grap front brake ( new duke 390 with ABS , clutch was depressed simultaneously of course ) and a stoppie(front wheel lock) lasting less than a second happens , no accident or loss of control on landing . The worst part is neither me nor pillion had helmet on because he wanted a short cursory ride in front of my house on a very well lit road within an army cantt that sees no traffic and I considered bulletproof safe.
Lesson learnt -
1. never pass on helmet . I don't even for the 2km round trip to milk shop but now not even for a 1km round trip joyride . Not worth it and the cool night gave me a cold too.
2. don't fully trust electronic assistance .
3. use rear brake too , front only is too skewered . I at the moment don't use rear because of very uncomfortable peg position , my previous enfield was only rear application .
4. Dogs are .@##$#%#$#^$%^^$%^$%^%&%
5. Keeping the bike straight and not trying to evade helped , I will fully keep my bike straight the next encounter as well .
6. Safe roads are very dangerous , they make you lax . I would not do 50 on a unknown empty road at night especially with an added life to care for at back .

Regarding the third incident - It sounds like the ABS did work, since you didn't lock up and slide the front. But I will second the thought that electronic assistance shouldn't be used as a crutch. The presence of ABS shouldn't give riders the license to forget good braking habits. I understand that in an emergency it is harder to remember to brake progressively, so practice this regularly until it is a reflex action. Assume that the ABS doesn't exist.

Regarding safe roads being dangerous - there are NO safe roads, period. Not in our country, where they are shared with all manner of creatures (human and otherwise) that haven't the first clue about road rules and etiquette. Always assume the worst. That way, surprises are always the pleasant kind.

[Silverflash]

One final thing before I shut up:

Slow and Safe are two different things. Just because you are riding at 40kmph does NOT mean that you are riding safely.

For example, one of the most irritating things I see on the road are bikers riding on the fastest lane on the highway at a speed of around 40-45 kmph. Please remember that in this environment, where every vehicle around you is doing around 60-70 kmph, relative velocity makes you the fastest moving object on the road.

In some situations, riding safe means building up and holding high speeds. If you aren't comfortable doing this, get off the fast lanes and ride on the slowest lanes (usually the left-most lanes on Indian roads). Do not take up space on fast lanes and make like a barrier - you'll get rear-ended sooner or later.

[msrsooraj]

Here's another one.

No two bikes are the same. If you borrowed a bike from someone, adjust and restrict yourself to the limits of the new ride you're currently on. Excuses like "the breaks were not as good as the ones in mine" or "this bike is lighter and so i slipped" will not turn the situation around. Get to the know the bike (especially the breaks) before settling into your speed comfort zone.

Ride Safe.

[Mr.O]

Originally Posted by msrsooraj

Here's another one.

No two bikes are the same. If you borrowed a bike from someone, adjust and restrict yourself to the limits of the new ride you're currently on. Excuses like "the breaks were not as good as the ones in mine" or "this bike is lighter and so i slipped" will not turn the situation around. Get to the know the bike (especially the breaks) before settling into your speed comfort zone.

Ride Safe.

More than that, if you borrow a ride which is relatively powerful than a bike which you usually ride or own, my suggestion would be, never go throttle wide open runs to test its acceleration the moment you get the bike. Use throttle gently. Learn the bike's plus points and most importantly, its weak points. Another thing is the brake/gear lever location (especially when riding an old bullet) and gear shift patterns. Even though how hard we try, there will be moments were we mess everything up. Especially in a panic situation.

[VCheng]

I could not find a thread for motorcycle photos, but these photos may belong here, showing the importance of proper riding gear as well as safe riding techniques to ride in adverse conditions:

These apply to both riding and driving:

1. At night, I don't see directly the dazzling headlights of the vehicles coming in the opposite direction. I focus my eyesight slightly away from the headlights so that I can see the things clearly.

2. Before and while overtaking, I watch out for the direction of the front wheel of the vehicle I intend to overtake. If it is pointed towards me, I abort my idea of overtaking. If it is straight or turned to the opposite direction, then I overtake that vehicle asap by engaging a lower gear and accelerating so as to reduce the time for overtaking as less as possible.

[msrsooraj]

Bhp-ians.. Checkout the following link on Eye Visibility Jackets.

http://www.amazon.in/Btwin-Secure-Vi...bility+jackets

It would be a very good idea to get one of these and wear them day or night above the riding jackets. While riding, making sure that others on the road see you are very important. Even though the riding jackets comes with 3M™ Scotchlite™ reflective strips, I am not very convinced with the visibility that offers. Even when its raining, these eye visibility jackets make sure that you are noticed.

[Sojogator]

The helmet visors.

I always thought they were just to save us against the elements and offer next to no protection.

Turns out that it is not the case !

I was standing still behind a car on my lane. The road was a narrow one without a divider. A reckless passion rider, with all passion to see his internals on the road, weaved his way, came to the wrong side for absolutely no reason, hit my mirror with his mirror and flew off ! Before I mustered my abused at him, a broken jagged piece of glass of around 2 inches flew straight at my face, scratched the iridium paint of my visor and settled down on my jacket !

Without the visor closed, the scratch would have been on my face/eyes !

Moral : Keep your visors down !

[kishgator]

My contributions to safe riding....

1. Always assume the 2 or 4 wheeler or truck guy next to you, behind you or infront of you will do something stupid

2. While changing lanes, or slowing down or turning, dont rely on just the mirrors, follow my "Twist of the head" rule quickly to see whats about to plough to your side

3. Engine braking: I agree when some say that "brake components are less expensive than engine components"..but the engine components are designed to pull the weight of the vehicle quickly from 0kmph, so they are also strong enough to stop the momentum of the vehicle too.

4. On a two wheeler, in neck to neck traffic, use "gyroscopic effect" i.e. accelerate slightly and pinch rear brake simultaneously, this will help you maintain balance in uber slow speeds

5. In a car, in neck to neck traffic especially on uneven roads, use "fan effect" i.e. keep looking on left as well as right every three seconds to make sure nobody is squeezing in that 6 inch space

[Gansan]

Originally Posted by Silverflash

For example, one of the most irritating things I see on the road are bikers riding on the fastest lane on the highway at a speed of around 40-45 kmph.

They should stick to the left most lane, I agree.

But the "fast lane" you refer to, I suppose the right most one, is also restricted to 80 KPH, which is the highway speed limit. I have seen many cars and bikes forget that limit.

Actually there is no such thing as a fast lane. It is for overtaking, and we are supposed to revert to the centre lane after that.

[Sojogator]

The Deep Breath.

Quite often, in our roads, you would encounter a situation that would push your patience to the edge (It can be anything from a rock in the middle of the road or a swerving scooter, jaywalker or a spitting bus driver). This is a dangerous scenario as the unstable you are then capable of doing something equally stupid and create a deadly domino effect.

What I do is breathe deep. Cools the head. Feel like Jesus as you forgive those petty wrong doers and move on and reach your destination in 1 piece.

[sumithb]

Originally Posted by adrian

Hi Bhpians, I would like to add two more books to the list added by n_aditya.

1.Proficient motorcycling : The ultimate guide to riding well
2.More proficient motorcycling : Mastering the ride

Author : David.L.Hough

Currently reading "Proficient motorcycling : The ultimate guide to riding well", excellent book.

@adrian: Thanks for introducing these.

[Sojogator]

The Kick:

All of us dread a lock up and a fall. We do our best but there are still situations when we lose traction under heavy braking.

I had been instructed by a friend of mine, long back when I had just learn to ride and didn't even know the number of cylinders in motorcycles, to 'kick'. Yes, I had just skid and dropped a bike for the 1st time. He told when you are sure that you are skidding and are about to get down, kick the road with your stronger feet preferably on the other side the bike is going down. The bike would stabilize and you would, at most, have a little bit pain in your leg. I thought it was impossible that a 100kg+ bike sets itself back with a weak human kick. Nevertheless, I practiced the technique at very low speed and seemed to be working.

I have used this a few times successfully. Even today morning when a bike came in on the wrong side for fun and the road was dusty. The front gave away under heavy braking. I kicked and it stabilized and I moved on. A little pain in the knee is all I got.

[Aditya_P]

My Contribution to the thread --

Till date, I had couple of bad accidents on my Karizma,

1] My karizma was pretty new, and while driving to office once, a very freak thing happened. I was behind a SX4, which was driving pretty close to the road median. Once it moved slightly towards left, I accelerated and tried to overtake SX4 and suddenly could see few wires dropping from the poles on the road dividers. I was shocked to see those wires so close to the road, and could see the trouble which was coming my way - What if those wires get stuck in my front wheel or handle or to the mirror. Guess what, it got stuck to my mirror and next thing I knew, I was flung over towards the road and bike got stuck and then crashed around with a loud thud. I had wore a helmet, but didn't close the belt buckle. Hit the ground, skidded a bit and then helmet got flung in the air. Fortunately, didnt recieve any head injury and had few rough scratches near my left cheek and few on the hands.

Moral - Always wear helmet properly alongwith the buckle. Be very cautious while overtaking, and look out for such stupid wires or deep trenches dug around the roads. The PWD folks or the road contractors are never bothered about the safety standards until someone loses life or a bad accident happens. It's your life and hence you need to take care.

2] Once again, while going to office after crossing wakad flyover, there was a straight road with not much traffic. Suddenly a guy, tried to cross the road from opposite side by riding his bike from top of the divider. I could see that he was slowly coming, then stopped and was looking at me. I was riding quite fast, and the moment I saw him stopped, I decided not to brake and lo and behold, that jerk was drunk and the moment I came near him, he simply rammed his bike onto me from right corner. My both fingers got stuck in the handle brake lever and accelerator, bike flung and I got crashed badly. One of the protruding foot-step of the bike hit very badly on my right leg. I was bleeding profusely, but got hold of that drunken guy and with help of couple of other people, took him to hinjewadi police and registered a complaint. Once the complaint was registered, went alongwith a havaldar and did my medical checkup and wound dressing. It was a horrible experience.

Moral - The crowd on our roads is full of idiots, no doubt. Always be double cautios, as ANY body can enter from ANY where on our roads. Do not hope, people will follow rules on our roads. You have to take care of yourself, either by driving very carefully and by wearing all safety gears.

[navin_v8]

Dear Teambhpian's, especially two wheeler riders I wanted to share this incident with you. Last week a 21 year old woman in my building died of a road accident. She was sitting pillion with one of her colleagues when they crashed on the road where she fell and banged the rear part of her head resulting in sudden death. The rider was seriously injured and is now recuperating in the hospital. It was a shocking loss for the family who lost their daughter towards this stupid accident. Her body was intact and one could see that nothing serious had happened to her unless one saw the back side of the skull which was smashed due to the impact on hitting the road.

Now it is simple physics, assuming even if the motorcycle was travelling at an average speed of 40-50 KMPH imagine the impact force with which she must have fallen and banged her head on the tarmac. Imagine someone hitting you with a stone on the head at the speed of 40-50 KMPH. It can be fatal and life threatening. I feel if she had worn a helmet she would have survived and have been at her home with her parents now.

Guys it is my humble request to all of you, infact I request all the folks here and those reading this post with my folded hands that please wear helmet and insist on the pillion rider also to wear a helmet. We should make it a practice to atleast wear a helmet which is the most basic life saving riding gear. When I say helmet it has to be a good quality certified (DOT, ECE, SNELL, SHARK Rating or even basic ISI mark) and a well known helmet brand. Dont wear those contraptions or an excuse of a helmet that are available for 300-500 bucks. People our safety is in our own hands so lets take this first step of buying two good quality helmets for yourself and the pillion. It is better to buy a full face helmet rather than those fancy half face or cap type helmets which will do more damage than good.

I as a motorcycle rider have taken an oath of not allowing any pillion rider on my motorcycle without a good quality helmet.