Motorcycle Safety Tips

Safety Tips

Beat That Heat!

Oct 30, 2019 Eagle Leather

Safety Tip of the Week Tips: Your Chillest Summer Let’s look at some advice for keeping cool that we folks in the Pacific Northwest can use when the temperature gets too high. Drink two to four glasses of water every hour so your body can sweat and thereby cool off. Salty foods and proteins produce metabolic heat that causes water loss, so avoid them. Fruits and vegetables are better choices. Eat smaller meals and eat more often. Avoid alcohol, which can multiply the effects of heat. Keep out of the direct sun as much as you can. When you’re not wearing motorcycle gear, wear a hat and light-colored, light-weight clothing that’s loose on you. Don’t get sunburned – it lowers your body's ability to cool itself and can also make you dehydrated. Even two minutes can raise the temperature in a closed car to an unsafe 94 degrees. Never shut children or pets in the car. Summer is a great time to enjoy the outdoors, but if it’s too hot, take advantage of air conditioning.

Safety Tips

Stearing Clear of Deer

Oct 30, 2019 Eagle Leather

Safety Tip of the Week Wildlife Crossing! With wildfires destroying their habitat, we might well see many more deer crossing the road than we usually do, so let’s review how to avoid hitting one (which can even be fatal to the rider). Pay attention to the highway signs that warn of deer crossing areas. Slow down, especially at dusk and dawn when deer are most active. Watch the sides of the road. If a shadow seems to cross a highway sign or a fence, it might be a deer. Deer’s eyes are reflective and you can often see them in time to slow or stop. If you see a deer, or think you do, honk. Noise might scare the deer away from the road. If your headlights show a deer in the road, blink the light. Deer seem to be transfixed by headlights and won’t move out of the way. Blinking the lights frees them from the “spell.” There’s an old saying, “the third deer is the one you hit.” And there’s some truth in that, because deer tend to travel in groups. Often you’ll see a mama deer with one or two offspring and an “auntie,” a daughter from last year. Ride safe!

Safety Tips

Wildfire Precautions

Oct 30, 2019 Eagle Leather

Safety Tip of the Week Stop A Wildfire Before It Starts As a motorcycle enthusiast, you can do your part to prevent wildfires. Use these precautions: Chains and other metal parts throw sparks when they drag. Check your motorcycle to be sure nothing hits the ground. Driving on an exposed wheel rim can also throw sparks. Be sure to check your tire pressure every time you ride. Never park on dry grass or brush. A hot exhaust pipe can set dry vegetation on fire. Don’t let your brake pads get too thin lest the metal-on-metal give off sparks. Dirt bikes always need spark arresters on the muffler. Rules for forestland may require that motorcycles also have them. In any case, a General Purpose spark arrester is a cheap, easy preventive measure to keep sparks from exhaust. Keep the exhaust system, including the spark arrester, and the engine in good working order and free of carbon buildup. Use the recommended grade of fuel for your motorcycle and don’t overfill it.

Safety Tips

Keep Safe While You Cruise To Your Favorite Tunes

Oct 30, 2019 Eagle Leather

Safety Tip of the Week Tips For Tuning In When you’re riding a motorcycle, you need to be aware of your surroundings and listening for traffic, sirens, and other noises is a big part of that. So how can you listen to music and ride safely at the same time? You can use earbuds rather than ear-covering headphones. They allow other noise to reach your ears. You can ride slower and try to be even more alert than you usually are. You’ll keep your mind on the road, even when the song takes you back to your first love. You’ll be aware that music can affect your emotions and involuntary actions. That way you won’t be speeding while listening to heavy metal or slowing for a crooner. You won’t be trying to fiddle with your music system while you ride. If you need to change CDs or switch channels, you can pull over to do that. Sometimes listening to music has an actual safety benefit. For instance, it can cancel out wind noise and help keep you from getting too tired to stay alert.

Safety Tips

Group Ride Safety

Oct 30, 2019 Eagle Leather

Safety Tip of the Week Having Each Other's Back Safety in a group ride begins before you start your motorcycle. Probably the best thing motorcycle enthusiasts can do to ensure a safe group ride is to have a meeting before setting out. At the meeting, settle on where you’ll stop, where a rider who gets lost should go, how far you’ll go for the day, and anything else you can think of that will affect your ride. Decide who will bring the first aid kit, the tools, and any other supplies your group will need. If your group has more than ten people, consider dividing up. Decide on a lead rider (for the front) and a sweep (for the tail end). The lead rider has the responsibility of letting the rest of the group know what’s coming: traffic, weather, wildlife, space aliens. The sweep sets the pace. Assign a place to all the other riders. Keep the less experienced riders ahead of those with more experience, where the more experienced riders can keep an eye on them. Be sure you have a full tank of gas and your cell phone, as well as anything you’ve been asked to bring for the group. Be prepared for the weather—and that includes water if the day is hot.

Safety Tips

A Tale Of Caution

Oct 30, 2019 Eagle Leather

Safety Tip of the Week Safety Is Always Stylish In 1928, on the night of September 14, the famous dancer Isadora Duncan met her fate. She was riding in an open car, an Amilcar CGSS, with spoked wheels. She was wearing a long scarf, which had been hand-painted for her by the artist Roman Chatov. The scarf was wrapped around her neck. One end caught in the spokes of a wheel. The scarf tightened around her neck and she was thrown from the car and died. With winter weather coming, it’s time to remember not to wear clothing—even scarves—that can get tangled up in spokes or chains or gears. Don’t get so caught up in fashion that you forget safety. Denim offers some protection, but you can up that with jeans made for motorcycling, and, better, yet, with a pair of chaps. You know you’re not going to wear spike heels, but do also be sure that your boots go over your ankles for adequate protection. Pretty rings are nice, but gloves are essential. No matter what the weather, gloves protect your hands in a fall and from any pebbles or road debris that might be thrown up. It’s said that Gertrude Stein, when told how Duncan died, said, “Affectations can be dangerous.” Let’s make the first S in Style stand for Safety!

Safety Tips

Stay Safe To Enjoy Your Trip

Oct 30, 2019 Eagle Leather

Safety Tip of the Week Trip Safety If you’re taking a trip—and a day trip counts—by yourself, there are a few recommendations that will keep you safer. Be sure someone knows where you are going, when you plan to leave and return, and your route. Set a time when you’ll check in, even if you’re still traveling. Be sure your backup person knows what to do if you lose contact. Try to get home before dusk. The trip in the blog is planned to get you home before the school bus comes, but on any given day, you’re safer to be off the road when the critters start moving around sundown. Wear layers so you can adjust to the temperature as the day goes on. Inspect your bike not just when you set out, but every time you stop—for lunch, for a photo-op, whatever. Check the tires for tread wear, nails, cuts; check for oil or antifreeze drips or spots on the bike; look at the chain and sprocket to be sure there are no kinks, metal shavings, or broken teeth. Drink plenty of water and not very much alcohol. Try not to eat so much you get sleepy. Just in case, keep your emergency information handy. Some people keep information about their prescriptions, allergies, and contact information in a pouch taped to their helmet.

Safety Tips

Don't Let Beauty Deceive You!

Oct 30, 2019 Eagle Leather

Safety Tip of the Week Fall: Wet Beautiful Roads Fall has its own special hazards for the motorcycle enthusiast. Here are a few things to remember: Dress in layers so you can adjust to the crazy temperature fluctuations a fall day can have. Always bring your rain gear. Expect deer to be more active and less alert as they are concerned with the rut and mating at this time of year. They may also be running from hunters later in the season. Watch for fallen leaves on wet roads—they are sooo slippery. Remember that night falls earlier as the year winds down. And in the morning, you should watch out for frost on the roads.

Safety Tips

Stay Smart

Oct 30, 2019 Eagle Leather

Safety Tip of the Week A Wise Winter Investment When winter closes in and riding becomes less than fun, consider taking a course to improve your riding experience. No, it’s not time for an advanced motorcycle skills class, but how about a photography class? Or Geocaching? Or birding? If you find a course on cooking for motorcycle trips, let us know. You never know when a first aid class might come in handy. Just Google “First Aid Tacoma” and you’ll find lots of classes, some free, some for a fee. CPR is a must, but it would certainly be good to know how to stop bleeding and what to do about a possibly broken bone until the EMTs arrive. We think that the more you ride on un-crowded roads, the more first aid training you’d be wise to have. There are specialized classes in first aid for motorcycle enthusiasts. If there’s a real interest, and enough people are willing to pay small fee for the class or classes, Eagle Leather would be happy to host an instructor!

Safety Tips

Build-A-Kit

Oct 30, 2019 Eagle Leather

Safety Tip of the Week A Must-Have Kit Do you have a safety kit on your motorcycle when you ride? An effective safety kit includes items you know how to use that are easy to retrieve when needed. So begin by thinking through the bumps and bruises you can reasonably treat. There’s no sense in carrying equipment you don’t know how to use or, on the other hand, stuff that won’t solve the sort of problem you’re apt to face. For most people (and for a good example), those problems will include road rash and deeper cuts that bleed. You’ll want to have: Hand-cleaning wipes A couple pairs of rubber gloves A few small and large bandages, being sure to include: Band-aid long enough to wrap around a finger Band-aid made to adhere to knuckles Non-adherent sterile dressing pads Tape or small roll of self-adhesive stretch wrap bandage to hold dressings in place Packets of NSAID pain reliever Packages of burn gel: antiseptic plus Lidocaine, especially good for exhaust burns Small packets of antibiotic ointment Small bottle of wound cleaner such as hydrogen peroxide Sponge to use with wound cleaner Use small packets rather than whole bottles or loose pills. Keep bandaging items in their sterile wrappings until you need them. Put the whole kit and kaboodle into a container and mark it so you, or someone helping you, can identify it easily.

Safety Tips

A Winter Danger

Oct 30, 2019 Eagle Leather

Safety Tip of the Week A Hidden Danger: Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Working on your motorcycle in your garage in cold weather can get you into serious trouble from stealthy, deadly carbon monoxide. Avoid problems—and a possible trip to the ER—this way: Don’t use a charcoal or gas grill to warm your garage. Don’t use a gasoline or propane heater, either. Any heating system that burns fuel can produced carbon monoxide. Instead, use an electric heater, either plug-in or battery-powered. Don’t run a generator inside your garage. Generators should be at least 20 feet from your home. Don’t start the motorcycle (or your car) with the garage door closed. And be aware of the wind direction. If the wind is blowing toward your open garage door, it will keep the fumes inside the garage, where they can harm you.

Safety Tips

Keeping Safe After Hours

Oct 30, 2019 Eagle Leather

Safety Tip of the Week Night Vision Days are short now, and many of us will find ourselves riding in the dark. It’s good to remember to be extra aware and perhaps go a bit more slowly. More drivers and riders have had a bit to drink at night than during the day. Give other vehicles a wider berth and always, always have an escape route in mind. Any obstacles, from potholes to loose gravel to just plain junk, are harder to see at night. Again, slow down and be ready to safely maneuver around them. Watch the side of the road for glowing eyes. Nocturnal animals can run out into the road, even in built-up areas. Remember that you can’t see as far in the dark as you can at night.

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