Motorcycle Safety Tips

Safety Tips

Drink Safely

Jan 2, 2017 Eagle Leather

Safety Tip of the Week Drink Responsibly Whether it’s green beer or something stronger, drinking alcohol seems to be associated with St. Patrick’s Day. It’s great to celebrate, but greater still to have a designated driver or another means of getting home safely when you’ve had too much to ride or drive safely. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, in 2011, 42% of fatal motorcycle riders who died in single vehicle crashes had a blood alcohol content of at least 0.8. That’s a sobering statistic, if there ever was one. You can get apps on your phone that calculate your blood alcohol content based on your weight, sex, and how many drinks you’ve had. You can get small hand-held breathalyzers, but the cheaper ones might give inaccurate readings. Coming soon will be gadgets you can plug into your phone. You’ll be able to breathe into them and use the app to see your blood alcohol content. Until then, drink responsibly and, if you’re not sure, take a cab. Stay safe out there! - Mike

Safety Tips

Effects of Sleep Deprivation on Riding

Dec 11, 2016 Eagle Leather

Safety Tip of the Week Riding Tired Is the Same as Riding Drunk This is a busy time of year—cooking and baking, entertaining and being entertained, shopping and wrapping—and all that activity on top of the usual daily round is apt to cut into sleep time. Studies have shown that when we miss even an hour or two of sleep our driving is impaired. Lose four hours and it’s about the same as driving drunk. And if that’s true for cars, it’s also true for motorcycles. It seems the body, when deprived of a good night’s sleep, tries to catch up with mini-naps that last just a few seconds. But a few seconds is enough to put you in the wrong lane or up the rear end of the vehicle ahead of you. To avoid this danger, get at least seven hours of sleep a night. If you’re way low on sleep, take a nap before you drive or ride. Then go slowly and do something to keep alert—like singing to yourself. And remember to watch even more closely for the other people on the road—they’re apt to be short on sleep, too. Stay safe out there! - Mike

Safety Tips

Seven Ways to Stay Safe this Spring

Dec 3, 2016 Eagle Leather

Safety Tip of the Week How To Stay Safe on The Road According to the Washington State Patrol, between 2010 and 2014, King County had 70 fatal collisions and 420 serious injury collisions involving motorcycles. Across the state, 72 motorcyclists in 2015 and 6 have already lost their lives this year. Most collisions happen between March and September. The Patrol says that riders who haven’t ridden all winter are involved in many of those collisions. We can do something about that. Here are some tips to help you ride more safely this spring: Check your gear. Use the handy checklist here and replace what’s worn or doesn’t fit. Check your ride. We’ve got a checklist for that too. Make that first ride short and try to find a sunny day for it. As you ride, keep an eye out for slick spots, potholes, and debris. Keep visible at night with reflective clothing and a functioning headlight. Any passenger needs a helmet and protective gear, and you should show your passenger how to lean and where to put his or her feet before you start. Keep your eyes and your mind on the road and it doesn’t hurt to practice evasive maneuvers in a safe place, such as an empty parking lot. Stay safe out there! - Mike

Safety Tips

Five Rules to Abide By at Crowded Events

Nov 8, 2016 Eagle Leather

Safety Tip of the Week Five Rules to Abide By at Crowded Events We hear that a few ill-mannered motorcyclists caused some problems at a ride through Seattle last week. The organizers of the ride have apologized. Maybe we should all take a moment to think about common sense and common courtesy. A ride with over three-hundred motorcycles can seem intimidating to motorists, so motorcyclists should take extra care to see that motorists don’t feel pushed to the side. A ride through an urban area is not the place for wheelies. Even though the street is crowded with bikes, you should not ride on sidewalks. Riding against the direction of traffic is both unsafe and illegal. Blocking streets while large numbers of riders pass is annoying to other people who are using the roads. If we want to be welcome, as single riders or in groups—large and small—then we should be courteous, careful, and law-abiding. Motorcyclists should be a boon, bringing their custom to local businesses or at least giving residents an interesting parade of vehicles. But a handful of ill-mannered folks can turn that boon into a bane. Let’s hope this doesn’t happen again in our beautiful and friendly Pacific Northwest. We welcome your comments on the Eagle Leather Facebook page. Stay safe out there! - Mike

Safety Tips

Watch Out for Children On The Road

Nov 8, 2016 Eagle Leather

Safety Tip of the Week Watch Out for Children On The Road It’s that time of year again, when children go back to school. Often children are walking to school or waiting at the bus stop before it’s fully light outside. Kids may dart out into traffic when they see a friend across the street. Horseplay at the corner bus stop might push a child into harm’s way. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reports that more school-age pedestrians are killed during the hours of seven to eight in the morning and three to four in the afternoon. It doesn’t matter why a child might be in your path, it’s your responsibility to avoid accidents. So slow down and keep alert, especially during the times when children are on their way to school. Remember to always stop for a school bus when its flashing lights are on and its stop-arm is extended. Children often must cross the road to get on or after they get off the school bus. Stay safe out there! - Mike

Safety Tips

Motorcycle Test Rides

Sep 1, 2016 Eagle Leather

Safety Tip of the Week Tips for Test-Driving a Motorcycle When you test drive a motorcycle, especially a used motorcycle, you want to get the most information from the experience. After all, there’s a significant chunk of change involved, right? Remember to wear or bring your gear. Nothing says, “I’m new at this” to the seller than a buyer who expects to test-drive without a legal helmet. Besides, Murphy’s Law says the worst possible thing will happen at the worst possible time. And that’s why dealers usually have an insurance form for you to sign, so they’re covered in case Murphy is right this time. Take a little time before you take off to be sure you can find everything. Adjust the mirrors. Can you reach the brake lever and the rear brake pedal? When you start your test ride, go slowly at first and brake slowly, too. Once you’re used to the bike, test the acceleration, braking, handling. Is it as responsive as you like? Is it sluggish or hard to stop? Does it pull to one side, which might indicate a bent frame, or does it wobble? Do the brakes squeal, or the shocks squeak, or the muffler roar? Any of those things are both safety issues and warning of repairs ahead. And how does the ride suit you? Are the handlebars, the saddle, and the footpeg placement going to give you a comfortable ride over the long haul? If you’re squirming around to find a comfortable seat, or leaning forward to peer at the instruments, you’re not riding safely. Stay safe out there! - Mike

Safety Tips

Tips to Keep You Cornering Safely

Aug 7, 2016 Eagle Leather

Safety Tip of the Week How to Corner Safely Curves can be tricky. Here are a few tips to keep you cornering safely. First, never try to pass when there’s a curve or corner coming up. Always have a way out—an escape route—in mind. Your motorcycle will go in the direction you’re looking, so look through the curve. If you look at the cars or bikes ahead of you, you just might rear-end them. If you’re going too fast, brake before you get to the curve. If you’re making a sharp turn, feather your clutch and you’ll have just the right momentum. Too much or too little clutch can lead to a spill on tight curves. Once you’re in the curve, start on the outside edge of your lane. Move to the inside part of your lane as you go through the curve, and then end up on the outside again as you come out of the curve. This makes the curve less “curvy” and more like a straight line. Stay safe out there! - Mike

Safety Tips

How to Prevent CTS

Jun 7, 2016 Eagle Leather

Safety Tip of the Week How To Prevent Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS) Studies in the U.S., Europe, and Japan show that a significant number of motorcyclists have carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS), probably from the vibration of highway riding, especially for long stretches. Here are a few things you can do to help avoid CTS and similar conditions that affect your wrists. Wear gloves with gel palms. The gel absorbs the vibrations and also lessens numbness and tingling even if you already have CTS. Eagle Leather has several options; one is on sale now. High handlebars increase the stress on your wrists. Begin by grasping your throttle with your wrist hyper-flexed; hold the handlebars a little more loosely, and keep your wrists in a neutral position. When you take breaks, windmill your arms and flex your fingers. Look into stress-reducers such as softer foam grips and weighted bar ends on your handlebars, wrist rests, cruise control, Throttle Boss, or Cramp Buster. Stay safe out there! - Mike

Safety Tips

Seven Tips for Passenger Safety

Jun 4, 2016 Eagle Leather

Safety Tip of the Week Tips for Maintaining The Safety of Your Passengers Moms, here are some tips from Women Riders Now that you should keep in mind when you’re giving your child (or anyone) a ride on your motorcycle: Be sure the passenger has the same safety gear as you do: helmet, leathers or a riding suit, goggles, and rain gear if needed. Remember that your passenger might have problems due to the wind, cramping, and boredom. On some bikes, the windshield directs airflow right behind you, onto your passenger. Your passenger can get wind chill and may strain back or leg muscles fighting the wind. If you’ll do a lot of riding together, you might find that an after-market seat is more comfortable for your passenger, especially if your seat makes the passenger lean backward, straining the back and making bumps impact the tailbone. Be sure you have your signals straight before you set out. You’ll want to know when your passenger needs to take a break, for instance. You won’t get bored watching the road, but your passenger has a more limited view. Always stop when your passenger requests it so the ride is fun for both of you. As you ride, remember that you’ve got extra weight, especially when you stop and when you’re maneuvering in parking lots. Tell your passenger to hold tight so you lean together on curves and to brace when you’re braking. And now is not the time for quick starts or knee-dragging corners. Take the Motorcycle Safety Foundation course together. Stay safe out there! - Mike

Safety Tips

Beware of Glare

May 11, 2016 Eagle Leather

Safety Tip of the Week How to Protect Your Eyes from Glare Glare is your enemy! Glare can make you temporarily blind and just the shock of sudden glare can make you unsteady. Neither condition is optimal for a motorcyclist. Furthermore, glare can damage your eyes and that damage can be permanent. We associate glare with bright sun so much that we might forget that winter brings its own version—and glare from snow or ice can be even worse than summer sun. In fact, a day in the snow can be more harmful for your eyes than a day at the beach. Snow reflects 80% of sunlight, more than water does. Too much exposure to sunlight or glare can give you photokeratitis, which is a burn on the surface of your eyes. It hurts, but it goes away. Not so other outcomes, like cataracts, cancer of the eyelids and the tissue around the eyes, or macular degeneration—the leading cause of blindness in people over 65. So, when you go for a ride on a bright day in winter, especially if you will see snow, wear your shades! Stay safe out there! - Mike

Safety Tips

How to Pick Good Waterproof Gloves

May 9, 2016 Eagle Leather

Stay warm and ride safely in cold weather with our top picks for waterproof and heated gloves. Discover features that keep your hands warm and nimble for a secure riding experience.

Safety Tips

How To Prevent Motorcycle Accidents

Apr 3, 2016 Eagle Leather

Safety Tip of the Week How To Make Your Bike Noticeable on The Road According to the AAA, most drivers who collide with motorcycles say they didn’t see the bike. You have to be defensive, not only in the way you drive—stay out of the blind spots of other vehicles on the road with you—but in making yourself and your motorcycle more noticeable. Here are some ways to do that: Always ride with your headlight on. Always use turn signals, not only when you turn corners, but also when you change lanes, and be sure your intent has been communicated to other drivers. Never be wary of using your horn if you think someone has not noticed you. Adorn your ride so it’s as visible as possible—think reflectors, bright colors, and reflective tape. Always wear bright clothing or add reflective strips to your dark leathers. Stay safe out there! - Mike

Product Comparison
Price

Brand
Product variants
Type
Description
Availability
Savings
Rating
Helmet style
Safety certifications
Head shape
Retention system
Internal sun visor
Pinlock ready
Communication-system ready
Intended use
Configuration
Designed for
Waterproofing
Liners
Ventilation
Armor included
Armor pockets
Abrasion materials
Abrasion coverage
Reflective features
Concealed-carry pockets
Length options
Knuckle protection
Palm protection
Touchscreen compatible
Lining
Season
Upper materials
Boot protection
Outsole
Boot certification
Shield type
Tint
Coatings

Rider Favorites

Choose your option

Choose your option

Choose your option

Choose your option

Choose your option

Choose your option

Motorcycle Safety Tips

More topics

Store Hours

Call Us

Email Us

Visit the Store

Visit our Lakewood, WA Location

Your cart (0)

Motorcycle Riding Gear

Order note

Shipping rates

Discount code

Product Comparison

Your cart