Don't believe the hype.
You're not a motorcycle rider until you have fallen. False. Falling on a motorcycle makes you no more or less of a rider. If it did I would say get it over with early and run your bike into the side of your house or garage.
Small bikes are for women. False. there is no such thing as a woman motorcycle. Motorcyclist have no gender, race or distinction. A motorcyclist is a motorcyclist.
Loud pipes and horns save lives. False. This will be highly contested but I have seen many motorcycles after crashes and the one thing that is obvious after you have seen a lot of accidents is that they are usually the loud bikes with pipes that crashed.
People who drive cars are idiots. False. Most motorcyclist drive cars also and are just as careless to motorcycles when they are behind the wheel of their cars. I have been in cars with motorcyclist and have had to tell them to stop tailgating motorcycles.
If You Are Going to Crash, Lay It Down. False. I suspect this line was developed by riders to explain why they ended up flat-side-down while trying to avoid a crash. They over-braked or otherwise lost control, then tried to explain the crash away as intentional and tried to make it sound like it wasn't a crash at all. Maybe motorcycle brakes once were so bad that you could stop better off your bike while sliding or tumbling. If so, that hasn't been true for decades. You can scrub off much more speed before and be going slower at impact with effective braking than you will sliding down the road on your butt. And if you are still on the bike, you might get thrown over the car you collide with, avoiding an impact with your body. If you slide into a car while you are on the ground, you either have a hard stop against it or end up wedged under it. The only events where being on the ground might leave you better off are: 1) on an elevated roadway where going over the guardrail will cause you to fall a long way, or 2) in that situation you see occasionally in movies, where the motorcyclist slides under a semi trailer without touching it. That's a good trick if the truck is moving.
I'm Safer on the Street than on an Interstate. False. The thinking here must be that slower is safer, but that's only really true after the accident begins. Controlled-access roadways are inherently safer because all the traffic is going the same way, and there are no side streets from which someone can pop into your path, no pedestrians, and, often, less roadside "furniture" to hit if you depart the roadway. Running down the road at 70 mph side-by-sidewall with the whirling wheels of a semi may feel hairy, but you are actually safer than at half that speed on a city street or even a country road.
A Skilled Rider Should Be Able to Handle Almost Any Situation. False. The sharpest, most skilled motorcyclist in the world isn't going to be up to the task when a car turns or pulls out in front of him a short distance ahead and stops directly in his path broadside. Believing that your superior skills will keep you of trouble is a pipe dream, even if they are as good as you think. No matter how skilled you are, it's better to ride to avoid situations that can turn ugly. Slow down, scan farther ahead, and think strategically. And dress for the crash.
Riding with the rear pegs down. This superstition takes a lot of forms and meanings but is usually brought up for discussion after an older rider tells a newer biker they should only have the rear pegs down if someone else is riding on the motorcycle with them. The most basic superstition has a rider giving the dreaded motorcycle gremlins a place to put their feet while riding along and waiting to cause mischief. This does lead us to question whether your Ride or Guardian Bell isn’t strong enough to ward off the gremlins before they have an opportunity to get comfortable with your rear pegs. Another version warns a biker invites spirits to ride with them by leaving the passenger pegs down while riding solo. Its an interesting superstition as riders are asked to do just that if they are involved in a funeral procession for a biker who has passed away. As with humans, bikers should be picky which ghosts they let ride with them it seems. The most humorous response to this superstition are the bikers that tell you the only reason keeping the rear pegs down are bad luck comes from something definitely living. Having a biker’s other half ask who they’ve been letting onto the back of their motorcycle seems too much of a curse to let the rear pegs be anything other than up when riding solo.
Now there are more myths than these but I know you're eager to get on your bike and ride. Please share your thoughts and tell us what you think. Have fun, be safe.
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