New rider - riding safety and technique concerns?

[eunos20b]

Hi all,

Recently starting riding in the last few months, I had a Kawasaki KC100 for a while and have recently upgraded to a '01 Suzuki DR125SE. I'm a Japanese car obsessive and bikes have always poked at me so gave it a go and it gives a totally new grin and sense of freedom.

Anyway, am not a total scaredy cat but obviously I don't want to come off. You hear stories and see bike crashes, and then get out on the open road and feel like it won't ever happen but who's to say what's round the corner/in the sky/in the passing junction/bush/tree?

ATM i've got a good bike jacket and helmet (cheers dannymassive) and heavy-duty CAT gloves, thick jeans with tracksuit bottoms underneath. When funds allow I want to buy some good bike trousers. What I want to know really is am I missing anything and are there any techniques I should know for riding i.e. what brakes when, position on bike etc.

Have fallen in love with riding and just want to stay safe and confident and try not to give bikers a bad name! Thanks in advance

[Derivative]

Probably depends a bit on area. I'm more concerned with other road users than with stuff like bricks on country lanes.

Always assume other road users have not seen you. Especially important on a 125; if you're in someone's blind spot and they change into you there are fewer options.

Tracksuit bottoms are a bad idea because the plastic will melt into your skin. I'm not sure if it's any better than just wearing jeans, it might be worse.

I'm a bit lazy with gear (esp trousers) but I always wear boots on the bike. Army surplus boots work well as a sort of halfway house - comfortable on and off the bike, look sort of a little bit like normal footwear, and are probably the next best thing to proper bike boots in a crash (proper sturdy leather, solid ankle support, etc, unlike most fashion shoes).

[eunos20b]

[Ariel Badger]

It is not if you come off but when you come off as we all do it. As said trackies and jeans are not good. Leather and armour is best for crash protection but not for weather so textile and armour suit most people, Lydl (or is it Aldi) do textile once a year and the quality is good.
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Bikers make great organ donors, get 115 on your licence today.

[rhys99]

Proper leather motorcycle gloves would be far better than CAT gloves.
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[eunos20b]

Thanks guys much appreciated.

I've tried to go as heavy duty as I could to get me started and I had the CAT gloves anyway (heavy machinery gloves). I also have some leather gloves but I really don't think they are thick enough. Still better than textile?

Once my payday comes along maybe I'll have to have a field trip on Amazon for all kiiinds of leather if that's the best thing to have.
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'90 Honda H100SII (SJ)
Learning something new everyday

[Derivative]

It's not really about leather vs. textile but whether they're designed (or coincidentally are made of similar materials) to withstand the abrasion that happens when you fall off.

What's good against saw blades or whatever might be useless against sandpaper.

[Enduro Numpty]

If you stick with it long enough you'll develop a sense of what people are going to do before they do it. Expect the worst from all other road users at all times.

Sudden hard braking, particularly in the wet should be avoided. Brake hard by all means when required but try and avoid just grabbing a handful. Increase pressure gradually (timeframe of typically less than a second). Will give suspension time to load the front tyre and increase grip rather than lock front wheel and loss of control. It's worth practicing hard braking - you never know when it might save your life.

It's difficult to do on a 125 but if you progress to more powerful bikes then try and move slightly quicker than the flow of traffic. I'm not really sure why but it seems to work from a safety point of view.

There are some things that you just can't predict. I was traveling through a very familiar village at around 20 mph today. An old guy on a (stopped) pushbike was talking to a woman at the side of the road. Without any warning or without even looking back he did a sudden U turn. 1 second later and I would have T-boned him. He looked at me as if I'd done something wrong

[eunos20b]

Thanks Derivative, I see what you mean. I like the idea of leather as it doesn't rip and tear like textiles but it seems to be more expensive.

I am always expecting the worst from other road users. I think emergency stopping and braking suspension/load/wheel lockup is something I need to get a feel for now that you've mentioned it. I'd like to find the limits of the bike/tyres I'm using preferably before I have to use them in sticky situation!

Something like that happened to me today and that's why I got a littl concerned. I was heading a road with cars parked on the right hand side and a hidden junction on the right, at literally 5-10 mph if that (it's a neighborhood and kids play on that street). Just before I got to said junction a Clio flies out towards me - without even looking - looking at his passenger, I swerved and had to go on the kerb - he clipped a parked car's wing mirror and disappeared. No doubt Im at fault but still raises said safety issue.

Thanks
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'90 Honda H100SII (SJ)
Learning something new everyday

[carpe_diem]

Speaking of trousers, I've just received these:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/232043405227

Other than coming right up to my hairy tits they seem all right. An improvement on the standard cargo pants I wore before at any rate, although I guess you only find out just how good they are when you have an off.
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Currently riding: Suzuki EN125 | Previous rides: Vespa 125PX, Yamaha SR125

[eunos20b]

[Dave70]

Get yourself online and Google motorcycle clothing. Have a browse through some shop websites and see if you can grab any bargain sale items.

You'll find plenty of gear to suit your wallet, many products will often have customer ratings/feedback,which can be helpful.

Leather gear is good but, doesn't come cheap. I'd recommend going for some textile gear first and buying leathers a little further down the line, for a few reasons.

One being, British weather sucks most of the year and leathers won't keep you warm and dry, decent textiles will. Also, you currently ride a 125? and although some can manage a very reasonable speed, it's unlikely that you'll be reaching the kind of speeds were leather will protect you anymore than textiles will.

I was going to mention another reason but, I've forgotten what it was.

Personally, I'd suggest proper motorcycle boots and gloves too, as they are designed to protect parts of your feet/lower shins and the parts of your hands most likely to be injured in an off. The same for trousers and jackets, the knee, elbow, shoulder etc... armour is there for a good reason.

When you do see any items that you are interested in buying, have a look on eBay to see if anyone is selling it cheaper or has a decent used item they want to sell.
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There ain't no devil, there's just god when he's drunk.

2012: R125 killed by white van. 2016 R125 killed by 30,000 miles of redline. Current: 2016 Kawasaki ER6f.

[Azoth]

There are no shortcuts.

Learn about advance planning: survival reactions usually aren't good for you on a bike, especially instinctively grabbing the front brake (as mentioned above). You need to read the road ahead, and other traffic, and anticipate what other traffic might do and things that 'might' be there or which might happen that you cannot see.

You like Japanese cars? You may need to break the habit of responding to traffic conditions by jumping on the brake all the time. A lot of drivers are alternately on the accelerator and brakes, because all they're really looking at is the vehicle in front. On a bike you should read the road ahead much further than the next car. If you're using the brake and throttle all the time, you're doing it wrong. Smooth on the throttle, plan ahead, and don't use the brakes too much.

Machine control is a different matter on different terrain, at different speeds and in different weather conditions. You need to know how your bike grips the road, and be aware of the weight and grip distribution between front and rear, so that you can at least make good judgments in the rain, on gravel, on unexpectedly sharp corners, etc.
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Safety in numbers

[Fin]

above link^
https://scontent-lhr3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/13912334_10205298752587087_6136980163216049781_n.jpg?oh=0b06121600cbe3bb46cd56d96540b2fa&oe=5873DB9B

edit paint bike yellow, fit topbox with reflective strip.

[Rogerborg]

Used bike gear can be a decent bargain - get on eBay and Gumtree, see what's out there.

Get what you'll wear though. Nobody goes out planning to have an off, and if you make excuses to not wear leather or cordura, then you might as well save your money.

The minimum I ever wear is armoured, kevlar lined jeans. Even for just popping to the shops I wouldn't wear unarmoured jeans. I've had one drop so far, and went down on my hip padding - I'm very glad it was there.

That was a complete riding fail, I stayed committed for too long and braked too late. Just taking your time a bit more is your best defence.
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Biking is 1/20th as dangerous as horse riding.
GONE: HN125-8, LF-250B, GPz 305, GPZ 500S, Burgman 400 // RIDING: F650GS (800 twin), Royal Enfield Bullet Electra 500 AVL, Ninja 250R because racebike