3 Bad Biker Habits I Need To Quit
I’ve clocked around 500 miles in my month-and-a-bit as a biker, and so far, it’s been extremely rewarding. I get to work in less than half the time as public transport, commuting is finally fun, and I’ve saved a lot of money and frustration on train fares and delays.
You can read more about my experience on two wheels here, but now I want to tell you about a few bad biker habits that have crept in. So consider the following three points a kind of wake up call to not only me, but to new riders too.
1. Speeding
One of the hidden ‘benefits’ of driving a car in a built up area like London is the relentless traffic that cripples your speed. The trade off, of course, is frustration, wasted fuel and diminished life, but at least you’ll come home with a clean license…
On two wheels, however, progress isn’t particularly hampered by traffic. That’s because a bike’s tiny footprint and effortless performance make overtaking and speeding easy and, dare I say it, enjoyable.
Now don’t get me wrong…I don’t ride around at 60mph in a 30mph zone, but I do find myself overstepping the limit by a few mph on many roads, so this is something I need to be a lot more aware of.
I also need to stop thinking about cars as things I have to overtake. Many bikers I’ve followed have this mentality, and it’s crept into my riding which means the likelihood of breaking speed limits (and bones) is raised even futher.
Arguing with car drivers
Over 500 miles, I can say I’ve had three “oh shit” moments. The first was when a school run mum in a Volvo XC90 pulled out of a side road and nearly knocked me off, the second and third times were my own fault which I’ll get to in my next point.
Since the Volvo issue - and with my growing confidence on the bike - my reaction to careless drivers has switched from being scared to getting angry, and this is something I need to work on too, because riding angry means riding dangerously (for me at least).
To give you an example, I was heading into central London yesterday on the A40 dual carriageway. I spotted a guy in a VW Touareg who was switching lanes multiple times without indicating, so I approached with caution.
As I went to overtake in the fast lane, he pulled out without indicating again and then straddled both lanes until I was past him. I didn’t want to take any chances that his manoeuvre was a fluke, so as I rode past, I bipped my horn twice to make my presence known.
As I did this, he screamed a word at me that rhymes with ‘runt’, to which I didn’t take very kindly. And so instead of letting this runt have his moment, I pulled along side and told him what I thought of him. I then rode off in anger, which meant that my throttle hand was twisted more than usual, at which point I had to chill out and remember that I was sitting on an engine with no crumple zones.
Maybe I should take up meditation…
Not giving myself enough braking distance
Remember me saying ‘the second and third times were my own fault which I’ll get to in my next point’ above? Well, they relate to braking distances or, in my case, the lack thereof.
The Highway Code states that at 30mph, the braking distance of a bike should be 23 metres or six car lengths, while at 40mph, these climb to 36 metres or nine car lengths. As for me, I spend much of my time at 40mph, giving myself no more than three car lengths (the recommended distance for 20mph) braking distance.
This is no good, as I found out twice in a matter of two minutes when two cars suddenly halted in front of me, giving me very little reaction time to lower my speed.
Had I been on a crappy old 125, I’m sure I’d have been in the back of at least one of those cars, which is testament to the safety of the Honda MSX I’ve currently got on loan, because trust me when I say I made full use of its front brake.
Since these moments, I’ve allowed more distance between cars, but I’m still way off what’s recommended. Still, since writing this and admitting that my attitude to riding needs work, I’ve become more patient and observant, which should help keep me safe.
Is anyone else going through the same experience as me? I’d be keen to know how you’re dealing with bad habits.
Comments
That is a good idea, it is better to be patient and observant, instead of getting hit by a car, flying 50 meters in the air, and falling down on a truck. Also nice helmet.
Do you play on getting a bigger bike later on?
He says when he gets his license he will consider buying a bigger bike
I’ve never ridden a motorcycle in my life and know little about them so please excuse my noob question. Do these things have a rear brake just like bicycles? Wouldn’t that be safer to use than the front brake in an emergency?
Yes they have rear brakes, but the front brake is more effective because under braking the mass of the bike/rider shift forward. That doesn’t mean the rear is ineffective, just not as capable as the front on its own.
Motorbikes have rear brakes, you actuate the front and rear brakes independently from each other just like on a bicycle. When slowing down in a straight lane the front brake is more effective since the weight of the bike shifts towards the front when braking. Ideally you’d want to use both brakes, but in an emergency you usually don’t have time to do that so you just slam the front brake.
The rear brake are mostly used for braking in corners, here using the front brake too much would make the bike uncontrollable. Understeering is way worse on a bike than it is on a car, which makes correctly applying the brakes even more important.
Modern 125s have combined braking so when you pull the leaver for the front brake it applies pressure to the rear too.
Even on a bicycle it’s safer to use both brakes. grabbing the rear brake only will only result in a rear wheel slide or no braking power at all, while the front wheel as a lot more grip, and therefore braking power. you just have to modulate
I have commuted by motorcycle for 8 years now; Prepare yourself for a lot more incidents involving careless SUV drivers. You’ll grow to hate all of them, trust me.
As for space between you and cars in front of you: work on your anticipation, always looking at least three cars in front of you (which should be hard on a low bike such as the MSX, but not impossible). If you do so consistently, you will rarely have to do an emergency stop. It works for me at least, unless there’s a van or something in front of you you cannot see through.
You’ve got the right mentality about keeping calm! Took me 2 good years to learn that.
I drive a SUV and even i hate SUV drivers. Unfortunately for them my Suburban has iron cross bumpers and running boards, so if i’m driving alone ( when my family is involved i try to be a saint) there is a 90% chance i’ll hit someone doing something stupid long before i put in the effort to avoid them in something that could roll over just by hearing the phrase “Moose test”. Been brake checked? Yup, my bull bar totalled their Murano. People coming over in my lane despite me honking? Check, they spun themselves out and hit the barrier when their rear got hooked. Been rear ended by innatentive CRV? Yup, didnt turn out too well when my tow ball went right through the radiator and did all kind of funny things. And this was just a little of what i dealth with in the past 2 years but the rest were really minor, for me at least. My insurance hasnt even heard about any of these because other than having to wash my bumpers my truck is fiiine. At this point it’s just funny to see who’s gonna shoot themselves in the foot doing something stupid.
I dunno why but bikes always have cooler tires than road cars.
The braking potential on a motorbike is split 70-30%, 70% being the front wheel, if you have a passenger the rear brake is more eficient because of the additional weight but it also increases braking distance.
I hope i will get my 125cc next year, i am now 15, thinking about honda cbr, would you recomend me something really cheap(like under £1000) with 4 stroke engine?
Common one for new bikers is riding too close to the centre line on the road. So many times I see bikers leaning into a corner dangerously close to oncoming traffic without even realising they’re doing it. Especially L plates and 500s.
AlexKersten its okay speed a little but as long as youre aware of your surroundings and weather conditions. Arguing with cars isn’t unusual for a lot of bikers, so I personally either get past if ita safe
AlexKersten be safe out there! The Grom is a great little bike!