Ron Hulton
VIP MEMBER
- Joined
- Jul 18, 2005
- Messages
- 300
Ride a motorcycle , you are taking a risk . The harder you ride , the more risk you take . The more risk you take , the more likely you will become a statistic in the negative column . So !!! how do you reduce the risk .... Think smart and use common sense . This does not come easy as i am one of those who was indestructible at age 17. A kid with a new licence on a new 750 Norton . What ever could go wrong . A young kid in an Envoy Epic crossed the 2 lane highway right in front of me and i nailed him right dead center . I saw him on the side of the road but hey ... i'm in the right of way .
In 1975 i got a new Yamaha DT 400 dirt bike . This was indeed a step down from the big 750 cc Norton . Oddly enough , the number of crashes and scrapes , bangs and bruises increased 10 fold . Racing through unfamiliar open fields at 50 mpg through waist high grass was certainly not the brightest thing to do .. Maybe that's why i fell off .
You ask , " what does this have to do with the clutch " ? Nothing .. But it does lead to more about how you should or could think about how you ride more so in and around traffic . We are taking a risk every time we ride but can do little things to reduce the risk . When i get behind cars in stopped or very slow traffic i try to stay to the very right side Canada .. right lane driving ) and outside of the car ahead of me and roughly two bike lengths back . This leaves me a straight shot forward to clear the car ahead . Having a bike in gear and ready to go is no good if you have no safe space to go . If you are to the left side and get hit then you take the risk of getting driven into oncoming traffic
As for being ready as soon as the light changes ........... don't be in a rush to get hit . There will always be someone in a bigger hurry running through the red light in order to get to the coffee shop before work .
From my own 51 years of riding experience and 30 years picking up pieces as a firefighter i can attest to the words of Lineslinger ....... the motorcyclist will always come out on the short end .
Taking care of ourselves first will allow us to come back here another day and who knows ...........talk OIL .
Cheers
In 1975 i got a new Yamaha DT 400 dirt bike . This was indeed a step down from the big 750 cc Norton . Oddly enough , the number of crashes and scrapes , bangs and bruises increased 10 fold . Racing through unfamiliar open fields at 50 mpg through waist high grass was certainly not the brightest thing to do .. Maybe that's why i fell off .
You ask , " what does this have to do with the clutch " ? Nothing .. But it does lead to more about how you should or could think about how you ride more so in and around traffic . We are taking a risk every time we ride but can do little things to reduce the risk . When i get behind cars in stopped or very slow traffic i try to stay to the very right side Canada .. right lane driving ) and outside of the car ahead of me and roughly two bike lengths back . This leaves me a straight shot forward to clear the car ahead . Having a bike in gear and ready to go is no good if you have no safe space to go . If you are to the left side and get hit then you take the risk of getting driven into oncoming traffic
As for being ready as soon as the light changes ........... don't be in a rush to get hit . There will always be someone in a bigger hurry running through the red light in order to get to the coffee shop before work .
From my own 51 years of riding experience and 30 years picking up pieces as a firefighter i can attest to the words of Lineslinger ....... the motorcyclist will always come out on the short end .
Taking care of ourselves first will allow us to come back here another day and who knows ...........talk OIL .
Cheers