Basics for Motorcyclists Who Upgrade

This article was initially written in 2014 addressed to a particular group of riders., most of whom were new to the genre of 'Big Bikes' with ample torque and horsepower are their disposal and then with brakes which did nto really suit the habits of the riders or were just not able to compensate for the riders 'newness' - and lastly but not dismissed are the allegations that the brakes were just useless. No matter how that argument proceeds, I felt that the new riders- from Shine to Pulsar, CB100 to KTM390, from RE Bullets to Harleys- I think this article provides some points from my perspective. Please send in your comments- I would love to add them to my article update.

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Over the past two months, along with Raghav, we have been watching a disproportionate number of incidents involving Street 750s- and in particular their rims.

We have had quite a few bent/broken rims and this post is meant from that perspective for all riders, not just the 750s- as disproportionate the numbers may be, the incidents are not restricted to them alone.

I will list a set of issues first and address the possible corrective measures in a bit

1. A lot of new riders have graduated from smaller bikes, engine capacity as well as performance envelope- wise and the one thing that riders need to keep an absolute control on is the acceleration that their bikes have, as compared to what they were riding earlier. Coming off corners, dropping gears on completing overtaking and turning on the power- etc. This is being coupled with not adjusting your stance and eyesight focus for the new motorcycle is a set up for disasters.

2. Deceleration on seeing an obstacle, be it a goat, truck, pothole, speed breaker- due to the acceleration being of a few degrees higher- more often than not, the riders are 'entering' these conditions faster than they are used to, faster than their bikes can handle and resultant- they either collide with the obstacle, or 'hit' it with force- that it results in deformation of rims and/or other vehicle body parts. Stance and focus again are to be worked on

3. Traditionally tires for Indian motorcycles are of larger profile, due to their experience on Indian roads. As it seems to many, the rubber of the bikes we ride seems to be of softer compound, not to mention of a lower aspect ratio- much needed to ensure safe acceleration and braking, as opposed to having harder compound tires which would result in a disastrous skid in either condition.

Many riders got good exposure with the group rides to Igatpuri just befor the monsoons, and especially on the way down the 8-10Km downhill from Manas to Latifwadi. Gear control, less use of brakes and the proper head position while entering curves, and while riding fast on straights. ( All locations are on the Mumbai-Nashik Highway, providing an elevational increase of about 1000-1200Meters in about 12km of super tarmac)

I will try and elaborate on a few procedures that we feel would make an impact on your quality of riding Let me begin with the smallest but oft ignored technicality first.

1. Check your tire pressure every week or two weeks at the least. This ensures proper aspect ratio of the tire and therefore the best possible protection on impact, optimum tread while riding- meaning safer acceleration and maximum contact while braking.

Most basic air compressors do not remove water vapour and that results in minor heating issues on tires- Nitrogen based air compressors/tanks are usually better maintained, and scrub water vapour better therefore resulting in lesser heating of tires. The difference is marginal and I will be free to argue about this offline. Make sure you have the correct tire pressure saved for your bike on your phone. 

2. While riding- please start making it a habit to use your front brakes more while braking. Most riders we see, use the rear brakes and you simply have to start front-biased braking. Begin to use this at lower speeds, and work your control upwards. For bikes without ABS- learn to pulse the brakes, to prevent seizing the front wheel under heavy braking. Learn to work the front suspension and dramatically lessen your braking distance. While shifting bias forward- ensure that you use the rear to maintain rear wheel directional control and prevent the bike from coming out under your seat.

3. The single biggest issue for new bike riders has been the issue of braking- this being handled in the above point- should be practiced every time you leave your building, and on every ride you do, as only practice will change the way we have been using bikes, with mostly non-existent front brakes till now... 

4. Eyesight- stop looking down in front of your wheel- its too late to do anything about it, except brace for impact if its in front of you. Chin. Chin. Chin.
Its not a song or chant- lift your chin, force yourself to look up- start looking 50-100 meters ahead of you... The faster your go, practice looking at the horizon. further away from the bike. For many that use their bikes in the city, this is a  notoriously difficult exercise- but you have no option, like the front braking issue- similarly this chin-up riding.

The best road to practice this is that Igatpuri-Latifwadi stretch, where all the time, you will be on the throttle, with the power on the rear wheel all the time, and with your eyes looking as far ahead as possible, into the next turn to check for your line and for any aberrations in the road surface.

This note is by no means comprehensive nor is it a accident-proof-your-bike essay. Practice your new bikes, air pressure, front brakes, chin-up.... make a better rider out of yourself. We are looking at a wonderful riding season from now till April-end atleast.

Help make the group riding experience a better one.

How to introduce your child to the world of motorcycling

How do you introduce an 18-year old to riding.

In all my writing about safety, I have met quite a few peers with sons and daughters approaching 18, including my own son- many of whom had this worry on how to introduce their kids to the world of motorcycle riding.

The topic broke up into three view points, all equally important. View points arranged upfront looked like this

From the Parents:- A single paramount worry seems to be the increased ‘rashness’ of riders on the road these days, and the growing indiscipline seen.

From the 3^rd party:- Kids who ride rashly, and break rules, get into accidents and bring grief to their parents

From the Kids:- the need for freedom to travel, the ability to be untraceable for those few stolen moments- the increased ‘Area of Operations’ with the wheels under them.

I do believe I have been a reasonable influence on a few riders through my blog and my interactions on group rides over the past 4/5 years that I have taken this ‘Promote Road Safety’ campaign that I run in my brain.

In my minds eyes, motorcycle discipline is always a part of the upbringing- the safety, the road discipline that children imbibe from their parents first and then their riding partners. So what they watch, writes half their riding DNA, and then thats severely challenged by their peers.

I find that if the parent/elder friend/family member- decides to take the youngster under his/her wing, then group rides are usually the best way to start. Group riding usually enforces a decent speed discipline, and eliminates the rush of wanting to reach some place fast and then wait for the others.  The group offers riding safety, covering the front and the rear of the new rider and that makes for a very good starting environment. I would assume that the guardian knows what kind of a group to align with for starters. There are reckless Pulsar Riders and very safe Z1000 riders, so I find that there is no point in talking about bike categories in regards to this topic.

On group rides, the simple things that fellow riders do- be on time, greet fellow riders, gear up properly, all of this gets imbibed and that slowly becomes becomes habit. Gloves, jeans with knee guards or riding pants, boots, and most important- the full face helmet, all get automatically enforced and the benefits of that will be evident- no strainto eyes, less wind fatigue, less noise in ears, protection from the sun and most important, protection from the tarmac.

A long time ago, on a wall of store selling safety gear, I read the sign-' There are two kinds of riders, those who have fallen and those who will.' I strongly believe this. Nothing I say prevents a fall. What it does is it prevents injury. Preoperly worn gear dramatically reduces the extent of the hurt, and therefore the dismay at home, the fear quotient of family members- and also the fact that you get back in the saddle sooner.

Helmets prevent other than grievous hurt to the head region- the dust and other particles from entering the eyes and distracting the rider. Evening riders are plagued by the problem of bugs as also trucks that carry debris or sand/mud and cause havoc for the ill protected riders in their wake.

Gloves- the best example I use is the fall in the parking lot, or the fall at 2kmph at a traffic signal because there is scree or oil or some other substance on the road- that causes a fall at a minimal speed- and then the lack of good gloves results in a skinned palm.

I don’t like to present high speed accident stories and then have teenagers tune out half way through the narrative. I prefer these sand-in-eyes and skinned-palm-a@2kmph stories that they find palatable, relatable- and more importantly avoidable. 

The one thing that did not work, was negative pressure- the threats of 'don’t ride, else…' 'If you ride I/we will...' from parents. That funnily had a poor response, where the kids then borrowed bikes and then in an effort to maximize the pleasure, rode fast/furious and obviously had no proper fitting gear to protect them and minimize collateral damage when the spills ended the thrills. I would think it is better to give them the leeway and monitor that rather than blanket ban activities. Parents have no idea how their kids travel by train, or board running buses. Parents have no idea how kids climb into other kids houses using drainage pipes and neighbours balconies. All this happens, like it or not. These activities are far more dangerous than letting our child have a bike and then taught the responsibility that goes with it.

Talking to kids- they see bikes from two very important points- one is the absolute freedom from the limitation of public transport, and the vagaries of the taxi/auto drivers. The ‘instantness’ of the ability to travel is what propels most of them into riding- and possibly %’age wise a greater ‘driver’ of the need to ride. Imagine at 8PM to want to meet a friend 3km away- you could just be there ina flip of a switch and click of a gear or two. 

The second being the 'cool' factor- the smart wheels where a Duke wins over a Pulsar and Ninja wins over Duke - something like that, without getting offensive to any brand. I have been asked about what bike for a starter- that article comes up next.

Fine, I say, but then two things that make a better rider, is the removal of the word ‘urgency’ from the riding and then the small but religious habit of wearing safety gear- helmet and gloves for sitting on a bike, immaterial of distance, cause or immediacy.

How does one tackle this? Various means worked for various folks- and a few methods did not work. So there is no perfect rule or set of rules that will teach your ward to be dressed for the crash.

In 1987, my father refused to let me accept delivery of the then prized Hero Honda CD100, after a wait of 6+ months because I dilly-dallied on buying a helmet.  Day One was with helmet, and I never rode without a helmet after that. In 2013, a full 26 years later, I was flung over my handle bars on the picturesque Kaas Plateau, in broad daylight, in clear weather, in an ‘single-vehicle-accident’- into a laterite rock wall at about 45Kmph. A very poor imitation of Superman, if you can imagine, the entire point of contact with the rock face was my temple and the helmet saved my life. Thanks Dad.

Kids from colleges that we met at a recently concluded Castrol-initiative meet, told us how ‘skinned’ colleagues often went home and hid their injuries from their parents. Lucky they were to get away without requiring hospitalization- else imagine the horror of the parents.

To sum this- I feel that a healthy exposure to good riding habits is primary, and the parents/elders can and must play a significant role in taking the lead in arranging rides with groups of riders who have reasonably good safety beliefs and records.

A healthy respect for the law goes a long way in making a good citizen and a good rider too.  Early knowledge of what is good and what is not-riding habits goes a long way from staying away from trouble.

Eventually, your child will meet riders who are either gifted, or foolish, or both or neither. It is at that time, that your efforts in inculcating these habits of proper riding, and safety gear will stand by them and tell them what is not to be done.

Bungee jumping, horse riding, paratrooping, trail running are just as exhilarating- and as you treat them- with healthy dose of respect, so should you treat motorcycling

Other safety related article are available at--
http://beagoodrider.blogspot.in/2015/09/learn-to-lean-your-motorcycle-part-1.html