5 DUMB Things We ALL Do While Riding 

Maybe we all do these things once in a while....maybe some are the extreme end and others just a taste. Motorcycles are fun...don't forget that. If you want to be safe, sell it. Here's the link to all my stuff linktr.ee/GregWidmar

In males with depression, it is common for us to engage in risky or dangerous activities. Understanding that makes it much easier to control oneself. It sounds like you started to control that behavior based on understanding how dangerous it is with limited skills. Good on you for having the humility to admit to yourself that you needed to learn more for riding fast and improving skills, and actually making that happen. So many people never practice their skills beyond just riding around but our bikes and our health are worth far more than the effort to train a little. You always bring the knowledge and you effort is probably saving lives. I always learn something. Thank you for helping us. Never stop.

5:47 hey man that’s my sister, eyes on the road😂😂

I've been motorcycling for 55 years and consider myself competent, but I'm still learning stuff every time I go out....let's be careful out there!

Staying in gear at a stop light/sign does have some down sides. If you are in heavy traffic with no escape routes (it happens) then going to neutral may be beneficial. If you do get hit from behind, when you hands come off the handlebars, you won’t dump the clutch and rev the engine at the same time. The British police always go to neutral at a stop because of that. So, I pick and choose when I stay in gear based on lane widths, escape routes etc.

For No.4, I use a gadget called st2 which blinks the brake lights as I downshift or slow down. It is cheap and GREAT!

I have wired my deceleration relay to the light to a lightbar on the rear box mounting base. The difference of cars opening the distance behind me during engine braking was very encouraging .

As always, great advice. I’m 55 and just bought my first bike since I was a teenager. I got a Royal Enfield Meteor 350, perfect for me at this point. I also spent $2,000 on top of the line gear (white helmet, reflective armored jacket, armored riding pants, gloves and nice high armored boots). I might look like Valentino Rossi riding a tricycle, but screw it, I’ll be protected as much as possible. Your channel has been a great resource. Really appreciate what you do here.

I've been giving those tips to my students since I started being a driving teacher for motorcycle licenses in Germany. I love watching your videos, because I always get new ideas on different ways of explaining these important facts to my students. Thanks and keep going.

The stop light when down shifting its a great tip and makes complete sense so the car behind know what you are trying to do. The others are also good, but I think that the stop light is something that most of us take for granted. Thanks MotoJitsu

imagine how many lives you saved just making these videos. Been riding since I was 11 (mostly rural areas in the Philippines), and i learn a lot about actual city riding in your videos. Looking forward to buying my first bike here in Australia.

Had people pull out in front of me. Cursed them out, then realized what an idiot I was, still had my blinker on. Love your videos. Inspires me to practice after every ride.

So, it's judgement -> technique -> technology. Can't agree more. The best way to avoid crashes is to use judgement and keep out of situations that cause them. Simple. Effective. Great video.

Dude, I ain't even bought a motorcycle yet and I'm already looking for empty parking lots to practice my motorcycle skills. All my life I wanted a motorcycle (48 years old btw) but working at the hospital I've seen plenty of reasons to not buy one. Not sure why but I'm ready to buy one. Gonna do EVERYTHING I can to protect myself but I do realize that sometimes there's no preventing certain accidents. Hopefully my gear and training will help when/if that time comes.

Good stuff. One more thing about riding on the edge of the lane is not just about an escape route, but also traction. The centre of the lane will have less "contact" with tyres over time, so it will gather more dust, oil, etc. Riding where cars' tyres would go will put you on the cleanest and grippiest part of the road.

While I think this list is good, I think you cold add lane splitting while other cars are already moving to that list. I personally do lane splitting only when the cars have fully stopped, e.g, not what happened at 18:50. If you don't put your safety in other people assumptions like you've said, then you should also not assume that people would not just decide to turn or change lanes in the last second, or just move slightly to the left or to the right and not leave you enough space. This happens a lot, at least in big cities in Europe.

Good advice. I have a couple of comments although I'm no expert 🙂 The clutch thing. If I look at how mc clutch work, I can not see how staying in 1. gear should put any wear on the clutch. If the clutch is working as it should, then the clutch plates it not touching each other and normally things not touching each other spinning around in oil dont wear. I don't exatly know the traffic rules where you are, but here in Denmark people have to stay in the lane to the right if there are more than one, except if it's like rush hour traffic. In normal traffic you go one lane left to get by a slow moving vehicle like a truck. And when you are done passing, then you go back in the lane to the right. That means that passing a car on the inside or left lane is very dangerous, because the right side view from within the car is bad. So here I would put in another rule. Don't pass a car in the lane on the right side of the car, because there is a 70% chance he won't see you and just shift lane to the right.

I’m constantly amazed by the calibre of Person willing to share that knowledge - won through hard work and thought - that can make us all in this case, better road users.

I always use the engine to brake and generally only fully engage the breaking right before I put my foot down. I have my rear break adjusted to turn the light on before the break engages. When I slow down I make sure to activate the break light. I can see two things that you do that will one day bite you, and that's splitting lanes when you stop and being the first to take off from an intersection. When the light turns green always expect one more car to try and get thought the light. Four wheelers pay a lot less attention to what's going on. They view the environment through a bubble, we're in direct contact with the environment so we're more in tune with what's going on around us. The second thing I'd never do is split lanes. Being 2 feet or less next to a three thousand pound vehicle that's under the control of someone else isn't smart. Being in the right or wrong doesn't matter if you're dead or busted up on the road. If someone old knocks you off your bike. You can expect them to haul ass. For old people. The only thing that rides a motorcycle is trouble. People in cars don't see you so never ride next to a car. They will merge into your lane without a thought. Always ride smart and be safe out there.

Great advice. I especially like that you want riders to create good faith with the cars around them while most other motobloggers seem to antagonize and blame cars for their own mistakes. One thing I think you might think about, lanesplitting is a huge antagonizer for cars and illegal in most states. I don't think riders should do this for many safety reasons and I don't. Thoughts?

Since watching your videos, apart from gaining way more riding confidence and skill, I now always keep my bike ( A Beamer - LOL) in first gear when stationary for the reasons you've stated. Now I've found that being at the ready, so to speak, has also made me more skilled at taking off quickly and smoothly..... It's quite incredible how much I've learnt from watching your videos. Thank you as always for your great presentations Greg. 👍

The worst thing about blinkers on is people will pull out in front of you . Happened to me .

Love your no-nonsense approach! Looking forward to getting my first bike . Trying to learn as much as I can. Thanks.

I can't thank you enough for sharing your motorcycle riding knowledge. I really appreciate all your help. Thank you 👍🙂

One thing that gives me chills in this video is the colossal amount of stop signs and crossings with and without traffic lights you have there in the USA. I think it must be really hard to predict the behaviour and trajectories of all those cars, who wish to turn left and right and etc.... One small mistake of behaviour and/or judgment and you crash. In EU we rely a lot more on roundabouts. They are terrible for pedestrians, because they force people to walk a lot more in order to cross a street and they are also not easy when you first get your driver's license, but once you get practice believe me, they are better and safer than normal crossings. Less different behaviours to predict.

I've had the same experience when I added denali lights with yellow lenses to both my bikes. At night -- fantastic depth perception over white. I have the spot on the left side, and the wide diffused on the right. Gives long distance down the middle of the road and illuminates the edge of the road for debris, sand and animals - pre or post road kill.

Thanks for lots of good sense talks! I am 69, ride a 400cc "Mega" scooter (Suzuki Burgman) and want to ride as long as possible. As for forgetting the blinkers (which I used to do regularly in stressed situations) I installed a beeper on my turn signal circuits which silent itself when I hit the brakes. This way it's not annoying while waiting at stop lights. And never forgot a blinker, as soon as you release the brakes the beeper reminds you instantly. Another side benefit is even when not turning at an intersection you feel confident that you are not approaching the intersection with an unnoticed silent blinker activated. Greatly recommend this if you don't have another system to cancel your turn signals!

Best riding video, thank you!! Love the down to earth explaining and humor. Way to set the facts straight with riding more safely, ( as you cut threw traffic twice right as your explaining just don’t stop too close lol, ) Kudos on your humility as well. Definitely be watching more of your vids👍 Sent video to my son, man I really hope he watches the whole thing and listens!!!!

I notice sometimes 2 riders will try to.follow each other, and the back rider is always focused on keeping up with the front rider, without looking ahead of the front rider, so they tend to be going way too fast through corners and intersections. It's a good idea just to ride separately and agree on a meeting place

Loving your videos mate. Very insightful. Especially to an older bloke getting back into riding after nearly 30 years because they didn't feel mature enough not to kill themselves on the road in their 20's. Just a question on the yellow lights on the front of your bike... Why do they flash at weird times???

A good one I didn't hear you say about the brake light to help get peoples attention is too purchase an aftermarket tail light that flickers when brake is applied, it really helps grab people's attention.

Another great video Greg, a note on the clutch thing, in 30 years of working on bikes, as long as the clutch isn't being used to hold the bike at the light, fully pulled in and brakes applied, there is no additional wear while sitting at lights. Wear comes from abuse and heat, so holding the bike on grade with the clutch, burnouts, clutch up wheelies and general dumping the clutch is what causes wear. So in gear, holding the clutch, watching the mirrors ready to move is the play.

Yep the majority of us do speed on our motorcycles and cars. I’ll hit 110 occasionally on my RT, same with the TTRS. If minimal cars are on the road, I’ll speed up briefly but bring it down just as quickly. Its all about living. Im 65. Im amazed at the number of veteran motorcyclists parking directly behind a vehicle at a stop. These cyclists need to watch your videos.👍

Good advice. My old VTX1300 forced me to develop a habit of always keeping the bike in first while stopped at a light. If I'm in neutral at a standstill sometimes the bike will not go into first until I roll it. So I got in the habit of putting it in first before I stop.

Mostly agree across the board- but dude- the YELLOW lights were the best thing I ever did on my bike! I've been riding off and on for 30 years, but when I got my new GS a few months ago, I got some yellow/white selectable LED fogs to install on the engine guards. In the short time I ride the new GS without, I had a few people turn in front of me or pull out- but not close enough to cause an accident because I was paying attention. Since the yellow fogs, NOT ONE. Not a single car has turned Left in front of me OR pulled out in front of me since installing them and I'm about 1K miles in since installing them. I read a paper that has to do with aviation and the ability to find other planes visually in difficult positions. As part of that, it was noted that a triangle of lights was found to be the best arrangement. Mounting fogs far enough away from the headlight to make a triangle is far better than mounting them all up high together... like my cruiser has.

Hey MJ, new guy on channel. I'm 73, still riding and learning. I practiced 98% of the skills you outline....most important skill is learning how to panic stop using trans, clutch, gas and breaks at the same time thru muscle memory..this skill has save me more than once..

I agree with your points however have you seen on the market that there is an electronic item that can be added to you bike that senses you slowing down with the motor and flashes the brake for you. The other thing is in Australia you cant lane spelt when cars are doing more than 30 km, riders still do lane spilt doing more than that however its illegal. Just thought you maybe interested in the brake item.

Maybe I’ve missed this in your videos, but the most scary situation I run into over many years of riding is riding on a two lane road; coming up to an unmarked intersection with a car approaching with their left turn signal on and a car sitting at a stop on the street to your right wanting to pull out. There are two dangers at the same time. Slowing down or flashing your lights might accidentally send the message to one or both of them that they should go. Your escape routes are now limited especially if there is more oncoming traffic. Suggestions?

This might be a universal thing, but is something I picked up on not terribly long after getting into riding, and that is, as I’m coming up to a stoplight with a red light, I’ll downshift per my decreasing speed as typical, but I won’t ever shift all the way down to 1st until right before I’m about to stop, and I mean like milliseconds before lol. I’ve been caught so many times thinking I’m pulling up to a red expecting to have to wait through an entire cycle, to then have the light suddenly turn green on me, and if the bike isn’t completely stopped but I’m already in 1st, then there’s that slight transition moment between slowing and putting weight on the front forks, then picking up speed again and shifting the bike back. It’s all just a subtle shift in dynamics but I don’t know, it always just bothers me when that transition isn’t butter smooth lol.

My first real world emergency braking was on the highway commuting to work. It definitely made me pucker but had I never practiced in an empty church parking lot, I would have been part of the box truck uhaul logo!

I have Clearwater Krista’s and Darlas on my GSA. Huge difference in seeing and being seen. I leave the yellow covers on the Darlas full time (mounted on lower forks) and remove the yellow cover on the Krista’s at night for better visibility. I also have the Billie brake light. Great video as always.

I'm from the UK and we have the same joke about BMW's. Nice to know something's are universal. Thank you for sharing your experiences. I've never heard anyone mention emergency braking and how to practice it. A new exercise to add to my 'To do' list while riding.

i dont know about america but here in europe blinkers are taken very srsly, you will fail at your car/motorcycle test if you forget to use them, depending on the situation one time is enough to fail, and the police will stop right there if you fail to use them in daily traffic. Putting the motorcyle in neutral is something that we never do here, unless you just want to stop for some time, not in places like red lights

I noticed you lane split your way up to the red light, several times. I lived in San Diego (30 years ago) and I remember the wider lanes that made this fairly reasonable. Now I'm living in Massachusetts and the streets are narrow and more congested. Are you totally comfortable with this practice, or would you advise against it? It seems with the year round riding climate, drivers have grown accustomed to sharing their lane with bikes, but there are downsides. Any thoughts on this?

My husband and I have 10 bikes between the two of us. I have such a hard time using the blinkers. On my BMW I constantly hit the horn while trying to turn off my blinker 🤦‍♀️. It is so freaking funny.

great content as always. Another thing I always do is create a safety bubble around me. I never stay next to a vehicle or in their blind spot. An interesting thing also happens on my Goldwing. (I also have a 94 Harley wide glide) back to the Goldwing. I have a strobing headlight. Whenever I use it.( I live in a rural area) cars usually pull over to let me pass. It wasn't my intention but, they think I'm saying "get out of the way" but I'm not. So I have learned to be judicious with the strobe option. I love the yellow light idea too. BTW I also have a strobing brake light that I sometimes use even while stopped when I see a vehicle coming behind me, just to make sure they see me. One thing I used to do was flash my high beams while entering an intersection. That will get you mixed results too. One time I did that a person in a car obviously thought I was telling him to go ahead and turn left. I had to hit the brakes. No harm no foul. He gave me the I'm sorry look as I went past him. Thanks for you videos sir.

Just ordered a white HJC i70 thanks for the solid advice. Id like a white shoei one day! This video was great for a newbie like me! Also I need to move to Pacific Beach looks gnarly man!

I have ridden 2 Goldwings , last 20 yrs with over 125K miles on each and never worn out a clutch. Rarely put bike in "N" at stops and constantly downshift in turns and twisties. I don't buy the clutch wearing out either. LOL on blinkers/turn signals. I use blinkers on the open road with no one around, I use them in residential streets with no one around. It is a habit of mine. However, I am guilty at times of too fast and closing in on a car to pass via an adjacent lane. Always a weighted risk calculation. Another great video, thanks!

Big problem these days is being rear ended in the city by drivers texting. Witnessed a rider stopped at a city crosswalk (morning peakhour), pedestrians crossing and a woman with stroller in front of the bike; the rider was rear ended by a driver texting. He had no where to go and he was badly hurt (the rider being hit probably, incidentally, saved the woman with the stroller), luckily the bike's pillion was thrown clear to one side, but the rider was driven into a steel pole at the edge of the crossing. Whenever at lights in the city, I point the bike between the lanes and tap the brake to flash the brake lights. Thanks for your channel.

excellent stuff, been riding for 50 years, at 16, you bought a bike and learned on the bike, for better or worse. wish there had been these tips available then. Now sadly reduced to twist and go, rule 3 no longer applies. But I recon MJ you may well have saved some lives.

I am guilty of #5 way to much. Only time I do stupid speeding when I ride alone on back roads on hills and curves on My FJR. City streets I go with the flow. On expressways my goal is not to get a ticket. so I stay 7 to 9 over, rarely am I in a hurry when I travel . Now in Nebraska 9 over got me pulled over on Rt 2 74 in a 65 only thing I passed was a dead skunk in 50 miles I told the trooper that he smiled he gave me a warning ticket. keeping it in gear at stops I have to say I have always done that just a habit. Love your info. sometimes it's a reminder other times I learn something new.👍👍

This format is one of the best you make in my opinion. Keep it up bro!

Why did you retire from total control?

Thank you for covering the "wear out your clutch" bs! I've been saying that for years. 🙂 And YES! USE YOUR DAMNED TURN SIGNALS!! And use them *before* you start the turn or lane change. They're not "Signal what I'm doing" they're "signal your INTENT" signals. FML

Thank you, l m63 and started riding 3 years ago. learned a lot watching your videoes.

Glad I found this channel. Newbie Old guy right here. Just got licensed and started with the 2023 Vespa GTS300 Super Tech. Getting acclimated on that easy to ride scooter first and then upgrading to a regular motorcycle.

I live in Malta, a small tiny island in the central Mediterranean sea, there are some riders that go crazy with the throttle. We do not have any motorways to speed up, not even 100 km/h. Our country has become overcrowded with vehicles, riding a motorcycle has become very dangerous and there is no space to speed up. We have to keep in mind that between the bike and the road, there is only a small patch of rubber in contact.Have fun and ride safe guys

Lmao the clutch part is so true. Like at someeeee point ur gonna have to get a new clutch. Trying to keep it brand new means u might as well not ride

You are correct about leaving the bike in gear while stopped 100%, and to those who say otherwise, the clutch will not wear when it is all the way in, as no friction is taking place.

I am working on using my turn signals more, but I do a lot of lane splitting/filtering, so it's hard to really set the habit. And last night riding back with a couple of friends from Orange county to LA, the whole time they kept downshifting without using their brake lights. Thankfully I was bringing up the rear, so I did, but I kept thinking, like, guys, come on, ESPECIALLY on the freeway... Speeding, lol!

Great messages, and you're helping the community for sure. One funny thing, though. @ 11:49, taking your hands off the handlebar to adjust your sleeve. You and I both know, this where you continue with the precaution to find a parking lot to pull over in and make adjustments. Keep up the good work man!

Something idt like to add to do while youre stopped at a stop light: As you see a car coming up to you, I usually tap my brakes using my foot a couple times and 9/10 they slow down more as they're coming to a stop. And, as I'm coming to a stop, I also pump my brakes a couple of times before I start braking like normal. People usually give me more space as we come to a stop

I'm in Canada and I think the max speed on any hwy up here is 110 km/h and that is the Trans Canada Hwy (Interstate equivalent). It may be 120 km/h somewhere but I'm not sure. Secondary hwy's are all 80-90 km/h. I very rarely go more than 10 km/h over any speed limit, but I do swear a lot.

It's nice to know that I am getting rid of a bad habit of two. I have started only placing the clutch into neutral after I make sure the vehicle behind has stopped completely. My friend got me in the habit of flashing the breaks a couple of times to warn the 🚗 behind me.

Solid Video Dude! Thanks for the tips. I'm new to riding, and have been utilizing engine braking a lot more within recent weeks- I had questioned a bit about the utility of doing so- and hadn't realized the downside of the brakelight not coming on. Thanks for sharing this! look forward to learning more from you.

Watching from NC your the best motorcyclist/instructor on here keep it up bro

Hey, so this is being recorded in San Diego. I live in Birdland, just up the north side of Mission Valley. I'm too old to ride any more, but still like to watch videos or riders with a message. Thanks young man, great video. Keep it up !

Another good one for the community Greg. Thanks a lot, keep up with the great work. Cheers from new Zealand and Kia Kaha to you

I went on the road for the 1st time today. It was amazing! I did bump onto a public utility vehicle though since I was following too close. I binged 2 other videos of yours yesterday, made me wish I watched this before going on the road today. Thanks a million for the tips, it really helped me earlier!

I have not ridden in 40 years and last Christmas I took a course in Texas to get familiarized again. But why do riders and yourself lame split and not wait behind the cars, because as a car/truck driver, that technique scares the driver and I fear for the motorcycle rider. I ride a 2006 Harley Eclectra Glide Classic, and I do practice like you say and I thank you for your tips.... They do help!!!

I changed my exhaust a few years ago from super quiet to super loud. Now I don't try to be obnoxious with noise on my Vulcan 900. I met a guy who said he was riding for 40 years and he swore louder pipes are useless, they Don't increase your safety at all. I told him that I saw a huge difference and it didn't take me 40 years of riding, but only ten minutes to see the enormous difference. The first day I could see cars way ahead of me move to the sides to give me room to split. I guarantee a little noise helps announce your presence but if someone said it makes you invulnerable, of course not. I think it gives me a bit of a percentage benefit but I'll never say it makes me safe.

About speeding, people (car drivers) expect you to go faster than the speed limit. If you don't often they'll tailgate you and you have to speed up. Very annoying when you just want to have an easy cruise. But most of the time, there is a time and place for speeding.

Sirens and Blinkers on private vehicles are illegal here in the Philippines, I just use high beam on/off on corners and intersections.

i used to speed often until i got the insurance tracker for my truck.. well i still speed sometimes. the thing is when i speed now its in places where i justifiably dont think im speeding. for example there is an on ramp near me that has you enter in to the left lane of the freeway and the limit is 45mph. the limit for the lane im entering is 45mph also but EVERYONE, including cops, go at least 60 up to 75mph there. i literally cant enter the highway at 45mph there.

I quickly learned that in slow traffic or at a stop, cars behind tend to judge their stopping distance to the vehicle in front of you like you're not even there at all. Learning how to brake whilst downshifting helped as you can get the brake light on early and keep it on. Even so, you are most vulnerable at stopped traffic because people in cars start doing dumb things like reversing to let someone exit a car park or something. It's obviously not always possible but I always admired those experienced jedi-like riders who manage to avoid stopping and just keep moving around and away from risks.

Hi I'm an old git now so have learnt not to tailgate if I am in my car and somone dose it to me I slow down and stop get out of my car open my hatchback and ask the driver behind if he wants to get in. That's the thing about getting older you loose your filters. Speeding over here in the UK we have many 20 mph limits and a shit ton of 30, I have learnt its best to stick to the limits and when I get to 50 60 or 70 I do as I feel especially on my bike

#6 Keep both hands on bars when around traffic. At any moment a car may make an erratic move and you need two hands to make your bike react quickly or to support your body during emergency braking.

I'm that one dude that actually does the speed limit to the dot. The only dude 😁. I don't get the thrill to speed, cruising is nice and relaxing.

I tour around and rock around like you I speed alot of the time im getting around all the cars if there's 2 lanes im always pushing forward threw traffic I have a hydraulic clutch easy to disengage my blinkers depend on how I am riding at the time I alway tap the brakes while gearing down in traffic I never fallow to close ill split close but I always give distance thats the one thing I don't do

great video thanks for sharing. highly recommend "brake free tech" light, it registers your speed an the moment you slow down lights come on attaches to helmet takes rechargeable batteries because even if your braking most drivers aren't looking at the taillight on your bike or may not even see it because its low height especially trucks or higher vehicles no need to wire it up or any of that either it will register from letting off throttle down shifting w.e extra protection cant hurt in the event someone isnt watching your taillight having a brake light on back of your head cant hurt what so ever. it has 3 settings you can set it to stay lit up all the time or strobe kinda blink like 4 way lights sorta or the first setting where it will light up when it senses you slowing down however your slowing down it will light up an let ppl know hey this guy is slowing down or catch there attention.

You are 100% correct! loud pipes don't save lives. Educated motorcyclists save lives. Also Modified bikes = smiles per gallon for me. New subscriber. I appreciate your contributions🤘

Thanks! I share your videos with my two teenage girls teaching them to ride on my Honda rebel 250 :-). We also wrestle and do BJJ :-)

Brother, I could never get used to the "Lane Splitting". Nobody in Tennessee uses turn indicators when they change lanes and I could just see someone merging over on top of you. Be careful Brother! Keep up the good work!

I have a big A cruiser and put my bike into neutral at most lights, never had a problem. I'm in no rush to go anywhere. My blinkers self cancel so using them is no problem. I don't speed in town, not because I don't speed, i just don't want to t-Bone anyone and I have a 900 pound bike i need to stop. I do go a little fast out on the highway. Just touch your front brakes lightly, brake light comes on all the time for me. Lastly. I stay away from cars :)

good video.....i also just put the amber covers over my auxiliary lights and I noticed that more cars are changing lanes faster and more often to move out of my way

Just saw this video. Great content, but when you mentioned the yellow aftermarket lights, I couldnt help but notice the lights blinking in the car in front of you. Unless its a Hertz frequentie thing, I guess its an aftermarket flaw? Anyway, keep up the great content, learning alot here in the Netherlands.

The best riders don't have to do some evasive or crazy maneuver to avoid the ladder in the middle of the road. They just changed lanes a ways back because they seen it early. That is a great point all day long.

Going fast is one of the joys of being young and dumb. Like you said, when I was first getting out on the road, fast was fun, wheelies were fun. Eventually, I was lucky enough to see a lot of other guys do stupid stuff and learned from there mistakes. I am on the road about 60 to 80K a year, seeing accidents and broken bikes, cars, and riders, has done a lot to make me a more defensive driver. Don't ride to save money on tires got a chuckle from me. Good point.

I often drive my dually with a dump trailer loaded down with firewood. My gross combination is about 10 tons. I'm 8 feet wide. I especially won't see you at all if your tailgating and I have to swerve or worse, if I have to come to an abrupt stop because of a "buck deer or bull elk in the rut that has to chase that scent... everything be damned!" ... crossing the road from a hiding place. If your tailgating me... your most likely street pizza! I also tend to brake and swerve for squirrels and prairie dogs... especially a live skunk! A good rule to practice on the open road is the 3 second rule. Three seconds of distance from the vehicle in front. For big rigs going 55mph plus, it's a 5 second rule. In congested areas where it feels like "near walking speed", use good judgement. Trust no one! Live a long life! Hardly anyone does this especially near bigger cities, is one big reason we have those bumper to bumper traffic jams all the time I believe. Stupid is as stupid does ... and yet they breed! I also don't hear much in the way of your loud exhaust by the way, unless your next to me. Behind me, I generally hear nothing. Perhaps the firewood and logs or hay absorbs the noise very well? Even in my car, it's really sealed from road noise and I don't hear that much. I don't want to see more crosses alongside the road this summer. Be safe!

I just bought a motorcycle, full leather pants, and jacket, gloves, and helmet, and signed up with Penguine Riders School because of you. Thank you!

How about lane splitting unexpectedly / unnecessarily ? As you start point 5, the lights ahead of you go to green & the cars pull away - you proceed to lane split in-between the 2 lead cars when their attention is likely with what's ahead cause they pulling away. They are side by side & therefore don't have the space to change lanes, but you going in-between could cause either car to swerve away & lead to an accident behind you. Good video otherwise, things which must bikers are guilty of, even over the pond in the UK - continue the good educational observations P.s. filtering / Lane splitting is legal all across the UK, so is very common, but car drivers still don't always expect it, even if they've seen the bike. I've done the very thing as you did then released how it must appear to the car driver who has had this bike 'appear from nowhere'. This is similar to changing lanes without using blinkers (indicators for us UK folk) & doesn't help car drivers opinion of bikers, in my opinion...

By the way motorcycle clutch packs, with the except of some Ducatis, they are wet clutches. they are designed to slip in the friction zone because they are bathed in oil. If you’re worried about clutch wear just to put it in neutral, you should be worried about your life. Maybe you shouldn’t be riding if that’s the way you’re thinking. That’s like saying I don’t want to practice emergency braking because it adds to my brake pad wear. Well if you don’t know how to stop, it’s going to add to your motorcycle wear when you crash as well as your life wear. Just a thought!!

Superb training video! Your skills and gifts for teaching are improving many riders abilities to safely ride and maintain control of their bikes. Your instructions are not only preventing motorcycle accidents but most importantly SAVING LIVES. 👍

What lights do you have on the front that cause the rolling up effect on reflective surfaces? I noticed it on the vehicles in front of you and reflective signs. Are they aftermarket or stock for that bike? You've probably mentioned it before and I've just never caught it.

I have problem with one hand. It gets numb very fast. So to hold the clutch non stop it's not the way for me,cause after 30 min riding my fingers gets so numb that I can't even feel that I'm holding the clutch. To stop on neutral and little massage or just shake my hand helps me a lot.

Great tips! Only an alerted personality could apply them by nature but people can learn and adapt. Thank you once more!

*_That's Hilarious "how about you do not ride your motorcycle to make the tires last longer." Thanks for sharing this._*

Although an exhaust wont add to your skills, I have a super loud exhaust (2-3" tip) on my 07 Kawi 650R and the amount of people who look at me (especially at intersections) when they hear my bike is well over 50% which I consider an extremely better chance of being seen by others. No I'm not saying the exhaust is all that people hear or see but it helps a lot.

I spend most of my saddle time commuting to work (Los Angeles area). A Roadcrafter suit made it easy to wear good gear.

I’ve always been told and heard from lots of people is if you’re at a red light it’s safer to use your rear brake rather than your front in case you get rear ended