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I have a pretty simple way of dealing with a tailgater/someone following uncomfortably close: when the road allows, I move over to the far right of my lane, slow down a little and wave the driver to pass me. They're happy and I'm happy.
I also never tailgate a motorcycle rider, I always leave enough room that God forbid something should happen, that the rider hits the tar, I have more than enough room to stop, without hitting him!! I also keep a rider in my mirrors on the road, That's where loud pipes save lives!! I hear him & pay attention to them, & slow down & let them pass me, I rather have them in front of me, than behind me.
You shouldn't do that, letting them pass is kind but moving to the right is dangerous. I did that a few times as a beginner but quickly learned my lesson. If you move to the right you give the car the option to squeeze by you as close as they want. The driver might be polite, or like in my case the 2nd and 3rd cars behind them that flew by me almost clipping my bars because of oncoming traffic. Hold the lane, make them cross the center line if they want to pass you. It's not worth the risk. Replying to the original comment.
My brother and myself just passed our motorcycle safety course at no cages Harley Davidson,they were great the time was 6 hours class room and 16 hours on the track,they taught us so much, I recommend anyone to take a motorcycle safety training class, I've gotten Harley boys that have been riding for years it's funny seeing some of the rookie mistakes they make, enjoy watching your videos and always dress for the slide, God bless all of you and ride safe.
@The Screaming Chicken once they found out I have a Harley they let it be, and we gotten the class half off ,it was like a 144 bux it was 6 hrs of class room and 16 hrs of course time,best money spent
Another informative video Kevin! Thank you! One time I took my former bike around the block to test ride it, I didn't wear all my gear and I felt NAKED!! I totally am ATGATT! Last summer (July) I was in Tulsa, Ok. and it was 110 with the heat index....I still wore all my gear, but man, did I suck down the H2O and Gatorade!!! Stay Safe & Ride on!!
I've had 3 motorcycles in the past, it was my only vehicle for about 2 years, rain, shine, sleet, snow, had to work. But.....that was 96 to about 2000, haven't ridden in 20 yrs. Or so, got the bug again. This channel has helped alot with refreshers, and more new info, didn't know what I didnt know. Bike shopping now, cant wait to get a fuel injected machine. Gonna unlearn some bad habits and learn some new good ones thanks to you Kevin. Thanks I truly mean that.
As an old educator, I would like to point out that the scene changes in this video works to keep the attention of the student/viewer. You should consider doing this more than straight lecture when possible. You have always had really nice videography, but this one excels. Great video. Nice scenery. Excellent content.
Here is one for you from the Philippines where I live. The term " Kamote rider" refers to an reckless rider who generally does not know what he/she is doing. Literally translated it means seat potato :)
Good episode as always! Nice description of "bar hopper", and there are way too many in junkyards from idiots boozing it up and getting on two wheels. But, I would add another definition. It is a kind of a style of bike in that it's not designed to be ridden long distances, either because the bikes not designed for comfort on long rides, but most often because it has a small tank, limiting range between fill-ups. "Squid" is derived from "Squirrely Kid". "Tank slapper" was new to me, so it might be a regional thing or I somehow missed it in my 30 years of riding, which entirely possible. But it does sound a lot better than "Death Wobble", which is what we always called them. Love this channel. There's always something knew to learn, or refresh my memory on.
I have heard that the term “cafe racer” was initially a derogatory term for aesthetic-obsessed guys who made those specific, primarily decorative, mods and then would “race” from cafe to cafe, BUT mainly they spent most of their time sitting at the bar/cafe rather than riding while their cool-looking bikes sat out front. This was said, mockingly, by riders who considered themselves fast and skilled... “real racers”. Don’t know if this is fact or myth. Sounds plausible though.
Saved the best for last 👍 I love your videos... watch them all. I really loved the one you did for “ I had to lay it down “. It’s amazing how many riders think that’s a legitimate concept. Understanding differently (un-learning that) is SO important. Thank you 🙏
I'm glad you mentioned the friction zone. That's a term I wish I had used last time I was talking to my mechanic. I'm even more glad you brought up counterbalancing. I live in the city and am constantly turning really slowly at 90-degree corners, like after a red light. I have always tried to "lean with the bike" when cornering or taking curves, but when you're going really slow that doesn't seem to apply. So now I know why!
I’ve run into a few guys who used the term , I had to lay her down, they all seem to fit a certain category, usually older , self taught before safety courses were a thing, very poor habits riding, tailgating, speeding etc,etc, and quick to have poor advice to new riders. The few times I’ve heard them telling a new rider ,I had to lay her down, I would get the new rider alone and try to educate on ignoring the bad advice.
I’m a police officer in Montréal, Canada. I remember a fatal motorcycle vs car collision at an intersection. The car cut the path of the bike by turning left. The motorcyclists, coming in too fast (collision tech opinion), “laid down his bike”. By doing so, he slided toward the car and his head struck the right corner of the bumper. Even with a full face helmet, he died on the scene. We can’t be sure of the outcome had he not taken this decision but we can speculate that he would have probably survived. I’m an experienced motorcyclist but still learn a lot watching your videos. Long live and be safe on the road.
Thanks, Kevin. Very useful and pratical video. Just an update, in EU (I'm in Portugal) ABS is mandatory for road bikes, optional for ADV and no mandatory for dirt bikes.
I have watched a few of your videos abd I have to say that you are without a doubt the best riding coach by far and you don't drip feed information for the sake of pushing sales and views You are what I refer to as a real Christian. Thank you Goodman
Back when I was teenager my brother gave me his old Suzuki GT750 which I retyred, serviced and caned around on. All good until one day doing about 90 over a series of undulations, the bike just got into a huge full lock to lock tankslapper. Cox I'm a dirt rider I just prayed and hung on. Eventually the bike sorted itself out and I've been riding carefully ever since.
I have always loved your content and tank you for teaching me so much in a short period of time. This format definitely makes more interesting and fun to watch!
Eagle Mountain Park, Eagle Mountain Lake Marina, TCU (easy one), Trinity Park (multiple spots, I have played many basketball games on the court under that bridge), Texas country roads...hahaha.
Thank you Kevin for another great video, I’ve noticed a new rider in our neighborhood and I can hardly wait until I get the chance to introduce him to MC.Rider, this poor guy definitely needs to park his bike for 2 weeks and watch your videos at every chance, after the 2 weeks he needs to ride about two miles to the empty old Food City parking lot and practice everything on every video that he watched, he crossed a storm water diverter in the road and wobbled 70 feet before he stopped and restarted!! Again Thank you Kevin for helping us become better riders!
When I first learned to ride, I had to get my permit before getting on a motorcycle, of course. That meant taking a test in NY. The counter steering term came up, and I just didn't get it. It made no sense to me at all. Then I got out on the course, and started to ride for the very first time, and I realized that you counter steer on a bicycle, too. I knew, at this point intuitively, how to counter steer.
Hmmmm. I rode for about 5 years brfore I got my motorcycle license. Not ideal I guess but I was pretty experienced from mini bikes and dirt bikes. Things were a little different 50 years ago and we were a little wild.
I'm amazed how many people actually say that riding a bicycle is different to riding a motorcycle. It's EXACTLY the same. Same physics, everything. For example, I've been trailbraking on the bicycle since forever - using BOTH brakes. Now I'm regularly using the rear brake in corners (my bike has linked brakes so pushing the rear brake applies a bit of front brake too), braking AND leaning without issues.
Yep, people that say they had to lay it down always puzzled me. I like your description, Kevin. To me all those they lay down their bike had better be jumping pretty far from their bike or they just lost a leg or something (what I’d fear of anyway).
Thanks Kevin. I love shots and scenery outside the garage! Another great video. I remember googling a lot of those terms when I began my journey in the hobby. One that took an embarrassingly long time to figure out was 2 up, or +2. Any time I googled it the forum posts, someone would mention changing sprockets. Which now makes sense. They were changing gearing on their bikes to get a lower gear ratio for added weight of a passenger. I actually did a facepalm when I figured it out.
Great video as always. I can't remember have you done one on motorcycle hand signals? That'd be another similar style video that would be good. Wanting to pass, cops, pointing out obstructions, slow down, etc.
Great video and topics Kev. How about a virtual tour of your new digs, looking good. Love the logo on the facility floor. How about some more video on slow turns using the DCT without the a clutch and the friction zone. Especially the throttle by wire sensitivity and use of the rear break to mimic friction zone.
ATGATT is the only way to ride a motorcycle safely. Here in Germany you have to learn to do emergency braking, swerving and braking and swerving at about 30 mph, handling your bike at walking speed using the friction zone, throttle and rear wheels brakes. And you have to show you can do all those things in a practical test in order to get your motorcycle license.
Here is one. A motorcycle rider hitting the top of his helmet. Means a cop is up the road. Great informative clip. Some i havent heard before and ive been riding sense i was 15. 👍👍👍🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
Down here it's also acceptable to call the t-shirt crowd Road crayons or Organ donors. I was a dumb youngin and did it in summer when I started, I was lucky and had my eyes opened at low speed. Been atgatt ever since.
Kevin, I wouldn't be so hard on someone having to lay their bike down. You are perfect and never get into a situation that you'll ever make the decision to lay your bike down and that is awesome.......EXCEPT when you have a car pull across in front of you. I'm here to tell you that I will not allow my body being thrown OVER a car and land on the asphalt only to tumble and roll breaking bones or what have you. I had a police car at the appropriate following distance behind me going thru an intersection when a lady pulled across in front of me coming from the opposite direction. I didn't have time to stop upright, anywhere to swerve to and instantly knew that when I hit her I would get thrown over her car so i decided to lay my bike down and let my machine hit her car first with me still on the seat. This was at about 35mph and I stood up without any injuries at all....however, had I been launched over her car the other would be true....Incidentally the police car behind me even hit her car so there wasn't any possibility to stop in time. I won't say here aren't times that people have done as you claim but don't just categorize everyone and go off on EVERYONE that has been forced to laying their machine down. That's like saying it is super-duper stupid for anyone to walk their bike while doing a U-Turn in deep SAND or thick sticky MUD. You said that just makes you mad and upset to hear someone say they had to lay it down...well, your blank statement conversely makes someone like me mad and upset. I don't hold grudges and won't with this either so if you would just please just give your blanket statement some additional consideration before repeating it again without knowing all the possible scenarios that can and occasionally do happen that could dictate a rider having to lay it down. Maybe you think hitting an object upright and flying over is a good option? I don't know what you think on that. I only know that for myself I don't want to go flying uncontrollably over anything like that.
Have you ever swerved your bike so hard that it slid out from under you? Im guessing no because its very hard to turn that sharply if you had tried to swerve you most likely would have missed the car and kept going - the problem is you did not even try, you just locked up the brakes and down it went. Not anticipating the turning car might cross your path... Im sorry but in this world that is on you - you could have slowed down and NOT trusted the car to stay put - but you didnt.... Anytime a car is in a position where it MIGHT cross your path you have to see it, you have to slow down, you have to cover your brakes, so that if it does, you can swerve or brake before hitting... because... THATS HOW IT IS BTW, on a bike with ABS you CANT lay the bike down because the wheels will not lock up.
I have been riding since 1970. I have taken factory sponsored advanced rider training. I have a bit of a motorcycling library. I am kind of into bikes one might say. I believe the term "laying it down" arose at a time when it was not uncommon to find yourself with crappy tires on wet or sandy/pea gravel covered roads and one or both tires would lose traction and the machine would start to slid out from under the rider and go down. As an FYI, I have at least one M/C book from the early 1970's that illustrates laying it down and slipping off the bike in a controlled manner. The idea being you will slide a lot further if you hang on to the bike (increased mass) but if you separate from bike the rider's reduced mass will allow them to come to a quicker halt than the bike. My father-in-law was a successful racer in the 1930's and early 1940's and during WW2 he was a motorcycle instructor teaching dispatch riders in England how to run fast and hard on pavement and off road. One of the learning exercises was to soak a grassy field to make it slippery and to learn how to lay the bike down in a controlled manner once the wheels started to slip out from under you. Other than these types of situations I do not see how you could purposefully make a moving bike tip over in a controlled fashion as it is really a large gyroscope trying to maintain itself in an upright position. Yet stunt riders do it all the time in action movies.
Great video and good to see you outside. As a New Yorker from Long Island, many of my rides run along waterfronts. Loved seeing that marina in the background. Is it really in North Texas?
I'd say ADV is also the lighter ones like the offroad BMW 850, Tenere 700, etc, even a KLR650 or some bigger dual sports. A little more offroad friendly, as they don't weigh so much when you tip over off-roading. Love the "lay 'er down" one! Was thinking I may had to comment on it. I'd say it's an often abused excuse by folks not good at road strategy, swerving, emergency braking and making turns. :-) Another one: "pillion": Highly misused as it means the passenger seat, but people use it to indicate the passenger.
Thanks Kevin for all of the great videos, I have learned a lot. I was wondering if you could do a video specific to road stratagies / lane placement when riding on 3 to 4 lane highways in each direction. Other than just the obvious of trying not to ride in blind spots and having plenty of following distance, and maintaining the same general speed as the flow of traffic. I find it difficult to feel comfortable that everyone is seeing me when riding in between lanes of traffic.
Hey, Kevin! Congratulations about the excellent video and the wonderful new editing! What chin mount do you use on your Shoei helmet for the action cam? Seems pretty smart!
You forgot “chicken strips” the most idiotic term the so-called experience motorcyclist tell newbies about. Heard people ask me where my strips are. I tell I left it at Chick fil a.
Friction zone is a term that I never heard although I am very familiar with the concept. In the 1970s I rode a Honda 750 for a full year as daily transportation to work in South Dakota. I learned to ride on ice and snow. Put the bike in second or third gear and slip the clutch so that absolute minimum power is transmitted to the rear wheel. I bought an old truck after a year and none of the idiots that pulled out in front of me while I was on the bike would pull out in front of the truck.
I dealt with tailgaters by replacing my taillights with very bright LED lights. Usu I don't have to flash them but a couple of times and people get the message and usu back off and maintain safer distance. My experience anyway. I always give them a thumbs up and peace sign when they do back off!!! Reinforce good behavior!!!!
I disagree with lay it down being the result of an inexperienced rider. Had a incident man years ago. I was going up hill, stopped at the stop sign, started to make a right hand turn when a car came flying up at 60 mph (in a 25 mph zone). Had two choices: pull out and get hit by the a-hole driver of the car or apply the brakes and stop, not good going uphill around a turn. I was not my inexperience that was the cause or problem, it was the driver speeding. If I hadn’t stopped I’d have been hit by that car.
The term I heard you use one time that made me chuckle was 'Flicking', a term used so often by the dank nooner himself, Yammie Noob. I am fortunately not one who would find the need to go flicking my bike around a corner though. I would rather use safe riding methods like yours than to flick my cruiser around some of those twisties.
@@butt-wad3109 I never worry about what anyone says about anything. For the most part, they are opinions, and not facts, so I leave them alone. I just enjoy my bike as she is, a beautiful cruiser. You're right, the Noob is a tool. Always going for the click bait instead of actual content. It was the way that Kevin mentioned his name one of his videos that made me laugh.
re: barhopperz - "When they're not found outside the bar, parts of em can be found in salvage yards throughout the country." LMAO out loud heartily at that one. Liked and subscribed
On my 2018 goldwing I put fog lights on . They really seem to light up the road a little better , it also makes you more visible in the day light . I believe the 2020 Goldwing Tour has them standard now . The bik really doesn't need much . It has everything .
I've found that the people screaming ATGATT and calling other riders Squids, are actually fairly new riders themselves and once they have a number of years of riding experience, they tend to stop spouting that stuff out. Around 5 years ago, I remember a YT guy, I don't like calling out names, that had just started riding. He was one of those that preached, "ATGATT, ATGATT, ATGATT!" He saw some dude on a HD with jeans, boots, T-shirt, and a half helmet. He called him a squid. A year and a half later, he had a video where HE was wearing T-shirt because he claimed it was too hot to wear his jacket. Last time I saw one of his videos, he was on a HD with jeans, boots, T-shirt, and a half helmet. I thought....hahaha, gee, are you going to call yourself a squid now. LOL. Even within the biking community, there are differences in what terms exactly mean. IF I were to ever use the term Squid, it would refer to someone flying down the road, no helmet, no shirt, shorts, and flip flops...while the girl on back, wearing a bikini, also no helmet and wearing flip flops, clung to him for dear life. Y'all ride safe.
The best way to totally avoid a motorcycle accident, is not to get on a motorcycle at all, just as the best way to minimise the chance of riding under the influence of alcohol, is not to drink alcohol at all.
Like you, I live in N. TX. Question: How do you ride in 100+F heat and ATGATT? I confess, I leave the jacket behind and ride in the rest of the gear but in a golf shirt...I don't commute and I don't get on the highways or ride in rush hour. I ride at or below suburban speed limits...40-45 mph...whaddya think? No excuse?
Squids are everywhere and not just new riders or sportbike riders. Squids are people who just don't wear gear, harley riders and pretty much any rider where I live is a squid who don't wear gear.
Emergency breaking... FM road at 4:30am, truck pulls out in front of me. EMERGENCY breaking...! Dang... that's starting the day with TOO much excitement. 🤐
I kind of have ABS on my old FLH with drum brakes. You can't lock up the front wheel ever and if it is raining nether wheel will lock up so Plan your stops. Laying down your bike cost money and skin I advise against it.
I hope this is taken right. I’d hate to “pick a fight” with you, Kevin. I hear people on RU-vid talk about counter steering, and nearly everybody leaves out an important fact. When you push forward on one side of the handlebars, you’re not directly forcing the motorcycle to lean. I think this perception can hamper someone’s understanding of the maneuver before they’ve done it and gotten used to it. In fact, when you push on the handlebar, you’re forcing the front tire to turn in the opposite direction, counter to the direction that you want to go. It’s very slight, only a fraction of a degree, but it’s enough to actually cause the motorcycle to fall slightly in the direction you want to turn. Once this slight fall is induced, the wheel turns back the other way, and serves to keep the bike from falling by entering a coordinated turn. In short, pressing the bar destabilizes the motorcycle by causing it to lean in an uncoordinated turn. As the forward pressure on the bar is removed, the bike stabilizes itself into a coordinated turn. Perhaps, that’s too complicated for someone just learning it. They just have to trust it, sort of like learning to fix your eyes on where you want to go in a turn.
your post is a year old..., like most conversations on counter steering you are a bit off. You are missing the cause and effect and getting lost and confused. A motorcycle at speed is self balancing. If you take your hands off the grips it will keep going straight and level. By pushing one grip forward you are disrupting the self balancing, keeping the wheel from twisting to that side, and as a result the bike leans and turns to that side. The harder you push the harder it leans and the faster it turns. By pushing it you are holding it off balance. The part you got wrong is: as long as the bike is moving " at speed" when you release the pressure the self balancing will be able twist the wheel as far as it needs to and it will restore balance, stand the bike up again and go straight again on the new heading. When you are taking a corner its too slow for the bike to recover balance on its own, then it will continue to lean and turn if you take pressure off. That is why you counter balance a bike on a corner, and lean with it on an "at speed" curve.
