How to stay alive on a bike

[Roxtar]

I have a few of my own, and thanks for all the tips above as well

 - Make sure you are as VISIBLE as can be (I personally hate the Teletubby dayglo vests BUT I have seen it save my bacon on more than one occassion)
 - Ride like you are INVISIBLE
 - Ride like everyone is out to kill you
 - Expect the unexpected
 - Rather back out and live to ride another day if your gut starts talking........

[BryanOC6]

Here are a couple i have learnt

1. If it feels wrong, hang back!
2. Watch where the car is in the lane, if they want to move across you will see them coming over slowly.
3. Take it easy ride with respect
4.  Be alert and be awake
5. Assume the worst in every situation
6. Don't lane split in corners , cars don't know how to keep their line through a corner
7. When in doubt slow down and hang back ! Check for cars behind you.
8. Sometimes I repeat this in my head, "Bold bikers don't become Old bikers"  I read it somewhere

[Bundu]

I agree with most/all comments above, but have some of my own as well

When riding tar, especially in shitty (downtown) areas, I try to stick to the inside of turns, in order to avoid possible fuel spills which mostly occur on the outside of lanes in a turn

after a night of heavy partying, I pay special attention to how alert I am and normally take things a bit slower

I warm engine and tyres up well before riding hard

[Ortos]

My Golden rule:

Situational awareness, be aware of were you are in the traffic and whats going on around you and have an escape route!

[Stofsuier]

I must add, that I've noticed that it seems that the indicated speed limits feels very appropriate when on a bike. It's as if its easier to exceed these in a car as they don't "feel" the same as on a bike.
So bottom line......stick to what the boards says, as that speed keeps you in control.

..my 2c

I think the reason it's easier to stick to the speedlimit on the bike is cos you're riding a R80GS.  Either that, or you must close you're helmet.

[Dirty Des]

My personal rule, Booze and Bikes don't mix so no booze if I'm riding, even a babalas can slow you down just when you need your wits about you most.

[Dustman]

Here are a couple i have learnt

1. If it feels wrong, hang back!
2. Watch where the car is in the lane, if they want to move across you will see them coming over slowly.
3. Take it easy ride with respect
4.  Be alert and be awake
5. Assume the worst in every situation
6. Don't lane split in corners , cars don't know how to keep their line through a corner
7. When in doubt slow down and hang back ! Check for cars behind you.
8. Sometimes I repeat this in my head, "Bold bikers don't become Old bikers"  I read it somewhere

Very important - I was nearly taken out by an F@@#$@#N IDIOT in a X5 cutting his corner.

[roxenz]

Here are a couple i have learnt

1. If it feels wrong, hang back!
2. Watch where the car is in the lane, if they want to move across you will see them coming over slowly.
3. Take it easy ride with respect
4.  Be alert and be awake
5. Assume the worst in every situation
6. Don't lane split in corners , cars don't know how to keep their line through a corner
7. When in doubt slow down and hang back ! Check for cars behind you.
8. Sometimes I repeat this in my head, "Bold bikers don't become Old bikers"  I read it somewhere

Very important - I was nearly taken out by an F@@#$@#N IDIOT in a X5 cutting his corner.

Indeed.  I have a nice black smudge on the crash bar, from the tyre of a bakkie that couldn't stay in his lane around the corner. Friday on my way home. Luckily the 1200GS is as stable as a brick shithouse...  I swear it pushed that Tata right back into its own lane!   

[knightrat]

If you can't see the cage drivers face in his mirror he can't see you. If you can't see his face move!

[Straatkat]

If you smell diesel, it will be on the road,probably already under you, be super careful. If your wheel rotates once and is covered in diesel you are toast, just keep the bike straight and do not brake, coast through the spill. If you make it out the other side praise your guardian angel.
Scan the road for darker coloured patches or wet looking areas and try to avoid them.

When going round a right handed bend, keep the bike as close to the curb as possible because your "footprint" will extend quite far to the right when you are leaning. Do not ride close to the white line as you will interfere with oncoming traffic.

When riding long stretches of tar, always ride in one of the car tracks as the part inbetween the wheels is more likely to be oily or slippery as most older vehicles drip oil etc from their engines in the middle of the vehicle.

[alanB]

Thought about a few more myself:

1) When pulling up at an intersection stop on,  or very close to, the white line dividing lanes - ie not in the centre of the lane.  So if the car behind you doesn't stop it has space to go past.  Just a habit that might help you not get rear ended at robots by cars that didn't expect you to stop, or where not paying attention.

2) On dirt always modulate your speed so that you can stop before the visible path in front of you runs out.  So if you cant see far, go no faster than the speed that will allow you to stop on the path you can still see.  This way if you are suddenly faced with a washed away road, a cliff, a truck parked in the road etc or any other obstacle that you couldnt see, you should still be able to stop in time.

3) On dirt, always hug the left hand verge on blind rises and blind corners, and be ready to head off into the veld if necessary.  For some reason on dirt - people don't necessarily feel they need to keep left and you often get bakkies/bikes on the wrong side of the road going the other way - which is particularly dangerous on blind rises and blind corners.

4) If you are caught out and are hurtling towards an obstacle under braking, instead of locking up and just plowing straight into the obstacle, consider releasing the brakes and steering around the obstacle - under heavy braking you only go straight and you have very little control of much else.  Releasing the brakes makes the bike instantly rideable again 

[brianw]

thanks peeps for all your advise

in addition, what works for me is to try to keep a car in front of me when going through intersections, that way I am less likely to be taken out. when I am without a car in front I often notice that the drivers only see me last second. iaw we are just about invisible.

[Jacobsroodt]

On a BMW M3 vs S1000RR shootout video I learnt with surprise that the car stops quicker than the bike. I thought it would be other way round - 1.5ton vs 300kg?! Bikes go quick fast, but don't be fooled by the false idea that a bike stops quicker.

[m0lt3n]

Some good tips.

Mine: Try to think like a cager of for a cager.
For example you coming around a corner and a cager is pulling into your lane, he probably looked and pulled away and is commited already before you came around the corner. Think for him.

Or turning right at an intersection while lane splitting, assume someone could be turning into the street you are coming from and could not be seeing you as the car next to you may be shielding you.

Same is applicable when driving my car, I am in general an aggressive driver but there is many a time where my wife just cant understand why I am calm if someone turned in in front of me, not understanding that I was anticipating it as circumstances led to that guy not seeing me or something.

[Boytjie]

Stay out of the "suicide" lane - still see guys daily on the N1 riding in that piece of tarmac between right hand lane and solid concrete barrier. If something happens in the traffic, the cars swerve to that side without even thinking as they do not expect a bike there!

[Kletsou]

Good sharings all around

When lane splitting on busy highways - N1/N3/M1/M2 be very careful when you approach other bikes. They don't tend to look at what is happening behind them and when they see you either get a moer of a skrik you have to watch out for or wants to "dice"

[Straatkat]

If there is a slow car in front of you, don't ride too close whilst waiting for a gap to overtake, that pothole is going to get you, hang back a little and leave space to avoid said pothole as it pops out from under the car.
The slower the car, the bigger the pothole!

[Merrick91]

A tip my old man once taught me that saved my arse before: on narrow windy dirt roads always give a hoot before going around a blind corner, farm bakkies and cabbies drive wherever they want and think they own their "local" roads. hooting just gives them a bit of warning

[Jacobsroodt]

I wrote off a bike by accelerating too hard off the white line after the light went green. The taxi from the opposite side decided to take the gap and turn in front of oncoming traffic before they got up to speed. I T'd him in the middle of the intersection. I was busy consulting the handlebar mounted GPS when the light went green, I was lane splitting and I did not want to stand while cars started moving. Lesson: make sure the junction is safe before starting to accelerate.

I saw a lady on a GS who T'd a car on the interjunction of Blaauwberg Road crossing Parklands Main/Pentz. Cars from the sea turning right think they can slip past in front of the oncoming traffic before the light goes green for west bound traffic. In practice the west bound cars have already started moving when some cager thinks that can just take that last right turn chance.

The chancers become more by the day - we are chancers when we don't check ourselves.

[Jacobsroodt]

Staying alive - the reason why I fitted (and sell) superbright LED spots. The Extreme lights 3600 lumen spots are really visible - at an angle. They are on all the time (they are dimmed for oncoming night traffic only) to be seen by oncoming traffic. LED spots are a life saver when lane splitting in peak traffic before sunrise/after sunset as cars clearly see you coming.