How to stay alive on a bike

[Road Hog]

Rule No.1 - For Me It Is Stay Awake

[ButtSlider]

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!

I firmly believe in this one.

[DaddyK]

And my 2c worth:

You don't have any rights!

[Boytjie]

and when lane splitting in heavy traffic, look out for other bikes coming from the side. Amazing how many bikers just "assume" the split lane to be open and not check for other bikes coming along between the cars. Have had a number of close calls due to this.

[Baas Attie]

Straatkat  -  How about you summarise all the GOOD ones in a new thread ?

[Straatkat]

BA, that's a good idea, wow over 1000 views and counting!
Some very good ideas came out of this, I think if it keeps us safer on the roads out there it's a win win.
Will see if I have time over the week-end to summarise all the good ones...umm they are all good.

[Tito]

I will ride one finger brake and two finger cluch when things are  getting Complicated .
That means I can gear up gear down brake and use the finger as a throttle steady all without spending any time moving my hands.Seconds are vital when stealing metres in an emergency braking situation.
Bliping a four stroke on the down change is a muscle memory to be encouraged as it means that even if your reasonably high up in the rev range in a gear and you are presented with a dangerous situation you can almost imediately gear down.
Teach yourself to first apply the back brake hard  when you get a fright .....giving yourself a split second to decide if your going to use the front as well ...that stops the dangerous snatching of the front brake one of the leading causes of bike accidents.
Target fixation when braking hard is human nature ....example a car has pulled out in front of you, the biker is braking hard and stairing at the car door front wheel or bonnet ...When you practice braking hard also practice letting your brakes off and swerving right or left....Starting first with a head turn ...Look where you want to go ..

[Bundu]

I will ride one finger brake and two finger cluch when things are  getting Complicated .
That means I can gear up gear down brake and use the finger as a throttle steady all without spending any time moving my hands.Seconds are vital when stealing metres in an emergency braking situation.
Bliping a four stroke on the down change is a muscle memory to be encouraged as it means that even if your reasonably high up in the rev range in a gear and you are presented with a dangerous situation you can almost imediately gear down.
Teach yourself to first apply the back brake hard  when you get a fright .....giving yourself a split second to decide if your going to use the front as well ...that stops the dangerous snatching of the front brake one of the leading causes of bike accidents.
Target fixation when braking hard is human nature ....example a car has pulled out in front of you, the biker is braking hard and stairing at the car door front wheel or bonnet ...When you practice braking hard also practice letting your brakes off and swerving right or left....Starting first with a head turn ...Look where you want to go ..

some nice comments  but as you call it "things getting complicated", I normally gear down one and do most of the rest of the stuff you mentioned, except that with my linked brakes, I hit front (with linked back) when things get tooooo complicated 

[manta]

If you see a vehicle pulling over to the verge or on the verge, ALWAYS assume they are going to a U-turn.

[MickeyT]

I picked up a couple of handy hints - thanks guys.

When lane-splitting in heavy traffic - don't weave in and out of the lanes like Rossi prior the start of the race - firstly, if a cager slams his brakes, you're fooked;  Secondly, not only the cagers, but bikes behind you don't know and can't predict your next move - stay in the center and keep your line;

If you're one of the superbike ouks that like to speed past a fellow biker in traffic, if you can't or won't slow down, at least  make sure that when you pass him, you don't try and get as close as possible in the passing.

When going through intersections or lane-splitting in faster-moving traffic, try and pass between two vehicles - that way, the cages protect you from other vehicles.

When lane-splitting in heavy traffic, mark cages that change lanes, as they are the ones looking for gaps in the other lane most of the time, and will act as soon as there is some sort of an opening in the next lane.

[jagter]

- Pre-load the front brake (just a tiny little bit) when approaching a dodgy looking intersection. That way you can apply max braking force immediately if needed.  This is my favorite trick, and saved my ass many times.

- Ride in a lower gear in traffic.  Keep the bike in the power rev range.

- When about to overtake, look ahead of the car you plan on taking.  If it's too 'busy' in front of him, don't do it.   For example if there is a car waiting to turn in from a side street, a taxi pulled over a couple of hundred meters further, and say someone in the road about to turn right.  Just stay behind your man. Too many drivers in one place, with at least 1 bound to do something unexpected.

- When turning right across robot intersections, try to keep a car between you and oncoming traffic.  It does screw with your view a bit, but that car provides a nice heavy barrier between you and red light skippers.

- When lane splitting you are better off between 2 cars (even if it feels claustrophobic) than in a gap.  Cars go for the gaps without warning, but a car will rarely try to ram another car.

- Ride like you are invisible, and as if everyone else is a moron (Because you are invisible and people go into some catatonic moron state when driving)

- Don't be a chop. Adjust speed to match conditions.  140km/h down a busy city street with cars pulling out of parkings left right and center, with lots of intersections and pedestrians is suicide.

[Garfield]

Having right-of-way means very little on a bike, and even less in a hospital bed - the bigger vehicle wins every time.

[jagter]

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.

I've seen that happen right in front of me. At Century City, from century boulevard turning onto the N1.  Wasn't maybe you? 600ish superbike? about 7 years ago.

[meteldog]

On gravel, when you see a car coming towards you, hug the road as far to the left as you possibly can. It's likely that there is a car(s) behind the oncoming car sitting in its dust, they often move over to their right to see if their is something oncoming (or sometimes just overtake) and will take you out coming form the other side.

I have had this happen to me on the R355 and in Namibia.

[meteldog]

On gravel, when you see a car coming towards you, hug the road as far to the left as you possibly can. It's likely that there is a car(s) behind the oncoming car sitting in its dust, they often move over to their right to see if their is something oncoming (or sometimes just overtake) and will take you out coming from the other side.

I have had this happen to me on the R355 and in Namibia.

[Geriatrix]

On gravel, when you see a car coming towards you, hug the road as far to the left as you possibly can. It's likely that there is a car(s) behind the oncoming car sitting in its dust, they often move over to their right to see if their is something oncoming (or sometimes just overtake) and will take you out coming from the other side.

I have had this happen to me on the R355 and in Namibia.

If a truck is approaching and kicking up a lot of dust, consider getting completely off the road and stop. There could be another vehicle about to pass him, taking up the full width of your side of the road.

[silberfuchs]

Thanks for all the good hints, some of them really new to me.

I have only one principle:

    DO NOT ASSUME THAT ANY OTHER DRIVER BEHAVES ACCORDING TO THE RULES OF COMMON SENSE AND GOOD REASON
                                           OR THE LAW - FOR THAT MATTER

After 23 years of living in (mostly South) Africa, being familiar with SA since the very early 1980ies and having done maybe 700.000 km (mostly in Land Cruiser type vehicles) between Arusha and Cape Town as well as Swakopmund and Beira:
   
     Driving habits here are still a thriller to me!

Many daily observable road habits hereabout would put these guys off the road and right into police custody in Europe (and I guess in the US of A too, from the little bit I saw there).

While the urban cage drivers and some rural bakkie pilots can be credited with an (unfounded) belief into the protective qualities of their mounts, quite a stunning number of our biker colleagues seem to have already reached the immortality that we all hope for. (see e.g.: Gauteng commuting battle field).

Therefore I stay off the busy tarroads and motorways, travel the wonderful gravel roads of this beautiful country and fall off my bike by my own doing and without enemy contact.

[Tito]

I will ride one finger brake and two finger cluch when things are  getting Complicated .
That means I can gear up gear down brake and use the finger as a throttle steady all without spending any time moving my hands.Seconds are vital when stealing metres in an emergency braking situation.
Bliping a four stroke on the down change is a muscle memory to be encouraged as it means that even if your reasonably high up in the rev range in a gear and you are presented with a dangerous situation you can almost imediately gear down.
Teach yourself to first apply the back brake hard  when you get a fright .....giving yourself a split second to decide if your going to use the front as well ...that stops the dangerous snatching of the front brake one of the leading causes of bike accidents.
Target fixation when braking hard is human nature ....example a car has pulled out in front of you, the biker is braking hard and stairing at the car door front wheel or bonnet ...When you practice braking hard also practice letting your brakes off and swerving right or left....Starting first with a head turn ...Look where you want to go ..

some nice comments  but as you call it "things getting complicated", I normally gear down one and do most of the rest of the stuff you mentioned, except that with my linked brakes, I hit front (with linked back) when things get tooooo complicated 

Thanks  ....Yeah linked brakes, abs and traction control the way of the future ....Definately harder to make Mistakes on than the Old School Stuff..

[Geriatrix]

No matter how good the clothes are, the skeleton needs decent muscle strength to support the bones and joints.
Go to gym and get strong.

[MickeyT]

No matter how good the clothes are, the skeleton needs decent muscle strength to support the bones and joints.
Go to gym and get strong.

Now THAT is wise words!