At some point or another you will come across a pothole.
If you ride long enough you will come across a pothole while riding. Now some potholes are bumps while other potholes are really manholes. Potholes are not only dangerous to you but they wreak havoc on your motorcycle's suspension, wheels , frame, etc. So the question is what can you do about them.
First. Lookout for them. I realize this may seem obvious but you would be surprised how many people ride and are only looking a few feet in front of their motorcycle or are traveling too close behind a vehicle in front of them. Scanning ahead will help you see potholes before you come up on them, thus giving you time to maneuver around them. This part also falls into your trailing distance which I described in another article on the New Motorcycle Riders website. If you are following too close behind a vehicle, the vehicle in front of you if it's a car, will straddle it. If it's a motorcycle, they can react and dodge it leaving you very little time to react or do anything. Never follow too close behind anything.
Second. What if you can't dodge it? This is when you need to slow down as much as you can to drive through it. You should also lift yourself off the seat and don't keep your arms too stiff. Be careful about traffic behind you too because if they are following too close you could get rear ended if they don't realize you're slowing down quickly.
Third. If you do go over a big pothole always check your bike afterwards for damage. It would surprise you how much damage a pothole can do to a motorcycle and you not even know it.
As always have fun, be safe and join the New Motorcycle Riders website for new articles and videos.
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