07-06-2019, 12:42 AM
I have been riding motorcycles for 50 years now, and I think several things come into play here. Any new rider I come across, I always recommend they take a motorcycle safety & riding course. Aside from a wealth of valuable information, the completion certificate is usually good for a discount on insurance premium.
My partner at the P.D. had a favorite saying everyday when we set out to catch criminals, "dont get complacent". When I ride, I am always riding defensively, watching out for what the other guy might do, and always scanning down the road for problems and a "way out". Unfortunately, almost daily, I do see motorcyclists doing dumb things. Things like hot dogging, not maintaining safe following distances, and riding in car blind spots. I wont even get into wearing minimal to no protective gear.
Every bike has a different feel and familiarity learning curve, so every time I have gone to a different bike, I spent quite a bit of time driving it around the neighborhood to "learn it" before venturing farther afield on it. Fortunately I have never lost respect for safe riding practices, and the potential for bad things happening if I ever loose that respect.
My partner at the P.D. had a favorite saying everyday when we set out to catch criminals, "dont get complacent". When I ride, I am always riding defensively, watching out for what the other guy might do, and always scanning down the road for problems and a "way out". Unfortunately, almost daily, I do see motorcyclists doing dumb things. Things like hot dogging, not maintaining safe following distances, and riding in car blind spots. I wont even get into wearing minimal to no protective gear.
Every bike has a different feel and familiarity learning curve, so every time I have gone to a different bike, I spent quite a bit of time driving it around the neighborhood to "learn it" before venturing farther afield on it. Fortunately I have never lost respect for safe riding practices, and the potential for bad things happening if I ever loose that respect.