Motorcycle Safety Tips

Safety Tips

Ways to Take Curves More Safely

Oct 30, 2019 Eagle Leather

Safety Tip of the Week Three Ways to Take Curves More Safely According to Sunshine Beer, who is the director of Idaho’s STAR motorcycle safety program, “70% of all deadly crashes in the last five years can be attributed to driver error.” She goes on to say that one of the major causes of crashes in Idaho is failing to negotiate a curve. Well, we’ve sure got curvy roads in Washington, so here are three things to remember—things that just might keep you off the casualty list: Remember that the bike will go in the direction you are looking. Don’t look straight ahead going into a curve, but turn your head and look through the curve. Be sure you’re going pretty much the right speed before you lean into the curve. Bikes hate it when you drastically change speed while leaning because it changes the balance and can cut traction. Beware of starting your turn too soon. You won’t be able to see, and therefore avoid, obstacles as well as if you wait for the right moment. What’s more, you’ll tend to swing wide coming out of the curve and risk a head-on collision. You can learn more about taking curves, and sees some swell diagrams, where we found this information, on the Motorcycle Basics website. Stay safe out there! - Mike

Safety Tips

Safety Tips Inspired From the Military

Oct 30, 2019 Eagle Leather

Safety Tip of the Week Be Prepared and Stay Vigilant! It’s been said in the military that: If the going is too easy, the enemy has mined that route. If you’re moving right along without opposition, there’s an ambush ahead. If you’re in a fair fight, you didn’t plan well enough. As a motorcyclist, you, too, need to be alert and prepared when you ride. You can’t expect traffic or road conditions or weather to be the same from one day—even one hour—to the next. There’s a reason why so many accidents happen close to home. We ride the same route day in and day out—or we take the same streets to get to the highway every weekend—and we become complacent. We let our minds drift to the workday ahead or the country roads we’ll travel or where we’ll stop for lunch. We shirk that pre-ride inspection every once in a while—after all, the bike was fine last Saturday. And then, a squirrel runs into the street, startles us, we hit the brakes, skid, and oops! Or that big curve is right here and we’re going way too fast, and yikes! Or the car ahead of us stops for no good reason, and bam! Or a damaged tire blows, and ouch! Sure, they’re all “accidents.” But inattentive riding is an accident waiting to happen. Don’t let it happen to you. Take a cue from the military: Be prepared and stay vigilant! Stay safe out there! - Mike

Safety Tips

Gear for The Youngest Motorcycle Riders

Oct 30, 2019 Eagle Leather

Safety Tip of the Week Gear for the Youngest Motorcycle Enthusiasts Before you consider giving a child a ride on your motorcycle, check your state and local regulations. In Washington, the child must be at least five years old. New Child Safety recommends that a child be at least thirteen before getting that ride. Certainly the child should be tall enough to reach the pegs comfortable and mature enough to follow instructions and sit quietly for a fairly long time. Get your child “geared up” before the two of you take that first ride. A helmet is essential—and no, a bicycle helmet is not enough. The helmet needs to be fitted to your child. A helmet that’s too small will be uncomfortable; a helmet that’s too large can actually cause a child to lose balance while riding. Your child should wear the helmet for at least five minutes and you should be sure it fits symmetrically. There should be no red marks when the helmet is taken off. Make sure the chin strap is the right length and can be easily tucked in. Your child should never ride without having the chin strap fastened. You might want a helmet with a visor that’s been treated to be anti-fog and scratch-resistant. The experts at Eagle Leather can help you find the right helmet for your child. Check out our kids helmets options. Sunglasses will keep the sun from your child’s eyes, especially if the helmet doesn’t have a tinted visor. Gloves and boots are necessary, and so is a long-sleeved jacket and long, protective pants. Again, our folks at Eagle Leather will help you find just what your child needs within your price range. Click here to review our kids gear. We’ll have more tips on riding with children as passengers in newsletters to come. Stay safe out there! - Mike

Safety Tips

Too Old To Ride a Motorcycle?

Oct 30, 2019 Eagle Leather

Safety Tip of the Week When Are You Too Old To Ride a Motorcycle? When are you too old to ride a motorcycle? Maybe never. Check out some of the blog articles other folks have written about this topic and you’ll see people in the 70s, 80s, even 90s who are still riding. We’ve collected some of their wisdom here: Keep in decent physical shape. You can use leverage to pick up a heavy bike, but you do need enough physical strength to be safe on the road. If, as happens, your bike is getting too heavy, try a lighter type of motorcycle. Balance is more difficult to control. The more frequently you ride, the easier it will be to stay balanced. If you have a hiatus, then take some time to practice, in an empty parking lot for instance. And, if you still have trouble, then consider a three-wheeler, or a sidecar, or outriggers. Reflexes slow down as we age, and that can be a problem. You could get a motorcycle with ABS to help with braking, but your own your own otherwise. It’s up to you to drive more slowly, leave more room between vehicles, and be judicious about riding in heavy traffic. Vision tends to deteriorate as we get older, so see your eye doctor and make sure your lens prescription is still what you need. Get checked for glaucoma, too, especially if you see halos around streetlights. Night vision, according to the elders posting on blogs, seems to be the first to go, so you may need to plan trips in a way that avoids night riding. Wear the right gear. Older bones can be brittle. You might want to look into armored gear. In any case, a full-face helmet, boots, gloves, and leather jacket may save you from painful injuries. Above all, keep a positive attitude. Remember New Zealander Burt Munro, who set several records at Bonneville Salt Flats when he was in his 70s. Stay safe out there! - Mike

Safety Tips

Electric Motorcycles Safety

Oct 30, 2019 Eagle Leather

Safety Tip of the Week Safety Features For Electric Motorcycles Every motorcycle enthusiast should know that being conspicuous helps keep you safe. You want the drivers of every other vehicle in your vicinity to know you’re there. You want them to see you and hear you. You don’t peel out of the driveway at five on a Sunday morning, but you sure want to “vroom” at drivers who seem to ignore you. Electric motorcycles are inherently quiet, and that might be a hazard. Do you think so? What other safety features would you like to see in electric motorcycles? In motorcycles in general? Maybe ABS brakes? A backup camera? Or? Let us know on Facebook and we’ll try to profile some of the options and ideas you suggest. Stay safe out there! - Mike

Safety Tips

Fourth of July Holiday Safety Tips

Oct 30, 2019 Eagle Leather

Safety Tip of the Week Tips for a Safe Fourth of July Holiday While you’re celebrating Independence Day, keep these facts in mind: Alcohol can impair your judgement when you have just a 0.02% BAC—far below the legal limit. So, it’s no wonder so many people think they are able to drive safely when they aren’t. Alcohol slows your reaction time by 15% to 25%. When it takes you that much longer to react, a crash or wipeout becomes more likely. Alcohol affects your vision. It reduces your visual acuity by 32%—nearly a third. It cuts your peripheral vision so you have tunnel vision and that especially affects your ability to corner safely. It causes your eyes to dilate so you are more affected by glare. And it wrecks your depth perception so you can’t judge distances as well, and you know that means trouble. So have a glorious—and safe—Fourth of July! Stay safe out there! - Mike

Safety Tips

Riding Without Ear Protection

Oct 30, 2019 Eagle Leather

Riding without ear protection can lead to serious and irreversible hearing damage due to wind noise. Learn how even the best helmets aren't enough and discover how affordable earplugs can make a huge difference. Stay safe on the road with our essential tips and gear recommendations!

Safety Tips

Riding Safely Through Construction Zones

Oct 30, 2019 Eagle Leather

Safety Tip of the Week How to Ride Safely in Work Zones On Labor Day, let’s pause a moment to thank the men and women who work to keep our roads repaired, putting up with bad weather and bad drivers. Perhaps the best way to thank road workers is to slow down in work zones. In Washington state, speeding fines are doubled in work zones, whether or not signs or workers are there. Laws vary from state to state, but for your own safety and that of those who are working to keep our roads in repair, obey the posted speed limit. Constructions zones pose hazards for motorcycle riders, too. As work goes on, conditions in any one zone can change even from morning til evening. It’s up to you, the rider to keep an eye out for: junk in the road, such as rocks or loose gravel or debris exposed manhole covers and other uneven areas in the pavement pools of water, which may be shallow or deep traffic shifting lanes or stopping suddenly stretches of road with no shoulders or shifting shoulders workers who are next to moving traffic Keeping alert for these, and other hazards, will help you ride safely through construction zones. Stay safe out there! - Mike

Safety Tips

Safely Riding in a Group

Oct 30, 2019 Eagle Leather

Safety Tip of the Week Stay Safe While Riding in a Group At big rallies like the Oyster Run, you can find yourself part of a group of riders you don’t know. These are some tips that will help you ride safely and companionably. If possible, have a little meeting before you take off to go over the “rules of the group.” If you’re joining a group of riders who often ride together, ask what they usually do about corners, checking mirrors, waiting for stragglers, and so on. As you ride, check the rear view mirror to see that the folks who should be behind you are still there. Look for the following three or four riders. If they’re not in sight, stop as soon as it’s safe to do so. If they don’t catch up quickly, inform the rest of the group if you can, and ride back to check on them. On the other hand, if you’re part of the rear guard and you all decide to stop at a gas station (or whatever), send one rider on to let the rest of the group know what you’re doing and prevent lots of worry. Big groups can split into smaller groups of five or six in which the riders are fairly compatible as to speed, gawking, stopping for photos, and so on. The first and last rider in each small group should be experienced riding and know the route. You’ll find that you tend to ride closer to other riders when in a group. Don’t do it. Especially keep some distance from the lead rider, who may have to lead you into a sudden turn. Don’t try to ride at a speed that’s uncomfortable for you and don’t try to make up time on the straightaways. If someone has to brake for you or tailgates, let them pass. Remember to be courteous and obey the rules of the road, even if others don’t. Enjoy the day and stay safe out there! - Mike

Safety Tips

How to Safely Handle a Flat Tire

Oct 30, 2019 Eagle Leather

Safety Tip of the Week How to Safely Handle a Flat Tire It’s almost inevitable if you do a lot of riding: One day you’ll get a flat tire. When you do, you’ll notice a little wobbliness and, if you’re going fast, you might hear a hum. If the rear tire is going flat, it will see as if your motorcycle is losing oomph. Now you have to get to side of the road and stop. Riding a motorcycle with a flat, even just a short ways, is dangerous because you can’t control speed or direction—and you’ll ruin that expensive rim. To pull over and stop, don’t make quick changes in direction. Instead, smoothly move off the throttle. If you know which tire is flat, gently brake the other tire. If you don’t know which tire is flat, gently apply both brakes once the motorcycle has slowed due to engine braking. Stay centered over the chassis as you stop. If you have a tire repair kit, you might be able to plug a leak in a tubeless tire or replace the tube if your tire has one. In either case, using a canned tire-repair product is not safe for motorcycles, so don’t use it. Fiddling with the tire by the side of a busy road can be dangerous. You can get roadside assistance to get you and your bike safely to a service station for the repair through your insurance, or a branded owners group, or through the American Motorcyclist Association. That way, all you have to carry is your cell phone. Stay safe out there! - Mike

Safety Tips

Be Alert Of Children Out On The Streets

Oct 30, 2019 Eagle Leather

Safety Tip of the Week For Halloween, Keep the Kids Safe On Halloween, little goblins and princesses are out and about after dusk, going from house to house and crossing streets. It’s time for motorcycle enthusiasts to take special care and be especially alert. Children may dart from between cars. In their excitement over treats, they may not look before crossing at street corners. They may wear masks that impede their vision or costumes that are hard to see. It’s up to us, the adults with the vehicles, to watch out for them. And in fact, the days are growing shorter and children may be out after dusk more and more often, or up and waiting for the bus or walking to school in the morning when it’s still dark outside. So let’s be careful out there these fall and winter days. Stay safe out there! - Mike

Safety Tips

Safety Tips for Electric Bikes

Oct 30, 2019 Eagle Leather

Safety Tip of the Week Electric Bikes Safety Tips In this age of innovation, electric bikes are becoming more and more popular. One feature of electric-powered vehicles is that they are silent. While this might be a feature your neighbors appreciate early on a Saturday morning, it can also work against you. Vehicles cannot hear you approach. A horn or bell can help. But it’s up to you to drive defensively and as though you are invisible to other traffic. Be careful when riding near bicycles and pedestrians, too. Since they can’t hear you, they may step in front of you. Or, you might startle them, which can cause falls or other bad outcomes. A bell or horn can alert them. Remember that you can be heard without having to fight noise from your bike. You can call out, “Passing on the right (or left).” Pedestrians who are walking dogs might need more time so they have their dog under firm control when you pass. Give them fair warning well ahead of time. And if a dog chases you, you can try telling it to “go home” or you can spray it with water from your water bottle if that doesn’t cause you to lose control of your motorcycle. But in any event, the dog will eventually reach the end of the territory it considers its own to defend and will turn back. Stay safe out there! - Mike

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