Being a music fan with extremely eclectic tastes, just a short time after getting my bike I wanted to be able to enjoy listening to music when I rode on my daily commute. I had acquired an Apple IPod Nano a short time back which I had won in a contest at work and did not use very much. I had filled up the Nano’s four Gigs with great music including Oldies, Classic Country, Classic Rock, Contemporary Country, Blues, Disco and, Jazz genres. I have a hard time keeping just my top favorites on the Nano’s limited storage space, there are other music and genres I would like to include.

One of the things I did not like was those uncomfortable ear buds that came with the Nano. They are large, bulky and extremely uncomfortable. Since I ride with a half helmet I decided to look for some comfortable earphones so I could listen to music during my commute. I had heard of earphones with active noise cancelling and since I have Cobra exhaust I figured that feature would be helpful. I found some at Wal-Mart and they did have active noise canceling and required an AA battery to power.

I rode with them on to work and home one time before I gave them away to one of my teenaged sons. It was not that they did not work; it’s that they worked far too well. I cannot even remember what brand they were. The problem I had with them was that I could hardly hear anything. I couldn’t hear my exhaust or the sound of the vehicles on the freeway coming up along side me. My motorcycle, a V-Star 1100 Classic did not come with a tachometer and without the sound reference I had a hard time telling when to shift.

Some of the problem was at the time I was a fairly new rider. Not being able to hear the traffic around me really scared the crude out of me. It almost scared me as bad as the time on the way home late in the day on a two lane freeway, when a vehicle passed me on the left lane and its shadow followed it on my right. I happened to be passing an onramp on my right at the time. I was startled when I cought the shadow to the right in the onramp lane in my peripheral vision, overtaking me.

It’s been a year and a half now and I decided to try again with a pair of regular, non noise cancelling, ear buds. So, I picked up a pair of Skull Candy Ink’d Earphones locally. Here is the description with specs from their website:

Ink adds permanence. It forces the visual representation of an idea, concept, ideal or experience, and tangibly commemorates it. Like a tattoo, graffiti, or stretch marks. Until you’re really ready to commit, go with the INK’D ear buds. Big sound, little price, no visible scarring.
Speaker Diameter: 11mm
Magnet Type: NdFeB
Frequency range: 20 -20K Hz
Impedance: 16 ohms
Max Input Power: 100mw
Cable Length: 1.3m
Plug Type: 3.5mm Gold Plated

Accessories: 3 Silicon Gel Sizes

They came with three gel ear bud sizes and the mid size worked great for me. I had started off with the larger size but they kept the body of the speaker housing too far out and this distorted the sound and made the wind rush around them louder. The gel part of the ear bud makes cleaning the Ink’d earphones easy enough. Just hold the gel ear cup upside down, slightly squeeze and shake.

The sound quality is not too bad for MP3 files playing through tiny earphones. I did have to adjust the IPod’s bass boost setting, found in the EQ section. This helped with the trebly sound inherent in small speakers. Then I dialed in the sound level to the desired comfortable level. I have the level set to where I can enjoy the music and still hear the traffic and the Yamaha V-Twin purr.

I am pretty sure I would not want to ride a motorcycle with all the sound blocked out by ear plugs. I feel you need to use all your senses when guiding a motorcycle down the rode. Skull Candy did a great job with these Ink’d earphones. They are small and compact, very comfortable, size adjustable, and sound well. They also  come in numerous colors and are inexpensive. Torch gives the Skull Candy Ink’d Earphones a thumbs up.

Ride on,
Torch

Not long after that I found myself in the local Pep Boys Auto store looking at replacement horns. I saw the Fiamm Freeway Blasters and grabbed a Low Note Horn. I figured the low note would give a larger sound, which was definitely what I was looking for. I got home and read the simplistic directions. I also referenced the V-Star 1100 Riders Knowledge Base in the Horn section. It appeared that it was pretty much plug-n-play. Always remember, appearances can be deceiving, mileage may very.

I went to the garage and started the install. The first thing was to remove the pathetic OEM horn. It had only one bolt attaching it to the upper frame between the down tubes. Unbolted, I pulled the electrical connector off the OEM horn and it was now off the bike. That part was easy enough.

I then compared the two horns and spotted a couple differences. One was the Fiamm Freeway Blaster wiring connectors were a lot farther apart than the OEM horn connector. I thought about this dilemma and decided I could do one of two things. I could cut the OEM plastic connector in half down the middle, or fabricate a jumper harness using spade lugs and wire. I reached for my favorite knife clipped in my left front pocket and carefully cut the wiring connector in two.

The second difference is that the Freeway Blaster horn is larger that the OEM horn. I held the Fiamm supplied bracket up to the bike mounting spot and noted that the bracket was too short. Then I noticed the bracket on the OEM horn still attached to it. So, I removed the OEM bracket from the OEM horn and held it up with the Fiamm Horn to the V-Star. The bracket went the wrong way and the horn would not fit properly. I scratched my head, flipped the OEM bracket upside down and held the Fiamm horn back up to the bike and it looked like it would work.

I attached the OEM horn bracket upside down on the Freeway Blaster. Then I attached it to the bike, bending the bracket slightly to position it correctly. I hooked up the electrical connectors previously removed to the new horn. I turned the key on and hit the horn button. Now it sounded like a real horn with a much deeper sound. It was not supper loud, but was definitely louder than the OEM. You can hear a sound clip at the Fiamm website here.

I noticed that the Fiamm horn protrudes out farther than the OEM. I had read of people installing horns on motorcycles and not allowing for the fender travel. This would lead to the fender hitting the horn and damaging the paint or fender. So, as a precaution, I made one more modification to the Freeway Blaster. I took a hacksaw to the front plastic portion of the horn that sticks out and lopped it off. The installation was now complete.

As far as a review the Fiamm Freeway Blaster Low Note Horn works as advertised. I’ve had it on for a year now and it works when called upon. Eventually I will install an air horn on my bike.

Ride on,
Torch

 http://midlifemotorcyclemadness.blogspot.com/

So, what does it take?
Well, first of all if you just started riding, get Keith Code’s book “A twist of the wrist” - both part 1 and 2. You will probably say - why the hell would I read a book about riding instead of going out and doing it - well, I can pretty much guarantee it will help. I don’t want to do a book report here, but in summary, there are a few major, important things you should take away from this book: body and seating position, counter steering, and learning how your bike actually works when you turn.

What is counter steering? Well if you are riding anywhere above 10 mph you are doing it whether or not you realize it. When you turn right for example, you are actually pushing the right side of the handle bar forward (or steering the other way). It’s going to happen whether you like it or not, but the key here is to be aware of it. Once you are aware of what you are doing, you will actually stop fighting your mind, which is telling you this is wrong (at first), and mess you up in the turn. Another thing to remember about steering in general is not to push down on the bars but push forward - which of course goes hand in hand with proper seating position. A lot of guys out there - even the veterans - still do it wrong. It might work, but it definitely requires a lot more force to do - so unless you want to waste your energy on this, push forward, not down. The only real way to steer a bike is with the handlebars and not leaning, contrary to what your buddies might have told you. The leaning just helps and happens because you are turning.

Another thing that’s worthwhile to learn about is - how your bike actually works. For example you need to realize that you will have much more tire patch on the ground in the rear as compared to the front when you turn. So in fact you are turning on your rear wheel and not on the front. Also, you will realize why you slow down through a turn, unless you are on the gas. The short and very simplified explanation is: the tire closer to the rim (when the bike is leaning) has a smaller diameter, so you will need the engine to go faster to keep the speed constant. It’s like the gears on a mountain bicycle. It’s also nice to know why you are not falling on the ground when you are leaning so close to it - it’s the centrifugal force that counteracts gravity.

Now that the basics are out of the way, here are some other things which I see too many people do.
First off, don’t TRY to scrape your knee… I know every sport bike rider thinks they are fast or look cool when they scrape their knee sliders, but I can run circles around them in my jeans. Why? Because dragging knees is an inevitable product of going fast, not the other way around. When all you are thinking about is how to drag your knee, you are probably not even going close to fast enough to need it. And since you are so leaned over, and have much less rear tire on the ground to get on the gas hard enough, you can bet a guy not dragging his knee will pass you (at least on the exit of the turn). Of course you are going to say - “well, what about all those AMA and Moto GP racers? They drag their knee”. The answer is they are going fast enough and have no choice. So stop concentrating on how your knee slider looks and concentrate on turning. Believe me; you will look much cooler when you pass those guys.

Another kind of obvious thing is - if you don’t know the road, take it easy. To me, knowing the turns (before you get to them) is half of being fast. If you know the turn, you know when and how hard you should brake and where the turn in point is. If you are on a new road or track for that matter - take a couple of rides before you try to pass your buddy.  If you are riding on the street and canyons, you should know where there could be dirt on the road or driveways, etc. There are places, I know, I can go much faster, but I also know there is a driveway right around the bend, and I’ve seen a many friends get hurt really bad when they don’t think ahead. Don’t forget to look as far as you can into the exit of the turn - not only for safety but it will help you be faster. You need to always look to where you want to end up. Look out of the turn not into it.

Equipment: Well, not that you think you are pretty fast, you may start thinking about upgrading your bike. In my personal experience, the most important things are: suspension, rearsets and last but not least tires. Other good upgrades are a steering damper, and of course brakes.
A better suspension will definitely give you more confidence and stability. You can get more power to the ground where you couldn’t before. You can either get completely new shocks and forks, or just get the internals redone. In either case - it will be better than stock.
Rearsetsare often overlooked by street riders - or just purchased for looks J. The most important thing about rearsets is - they will get you into a better riding position - more comfortable. You will be surprised what a difference one inch (or less) in height of your rearsets can make. At this point I have a hard time riding a bike with stock rearsets - it’s just very uncomfortable.
Last, don’t forget your tires. Obviously worn out tires are worse than newer ones - everyone knows that. But something I will recommend is - don’t be cheap. In the old days of Dunlop GPs, they didn’t last very long on the street, so a lot of people were reluctant to spend the money, but now days the GP 211s (or even the GP 209s) are fantastic. The new multi-compound GPs have a good lifespan on the street and they are one of the best tires out there you can get. If you want the performance without the price - try looking for some race take-offs, on a site like eBay or Motoyard.com. A lot of times you can find a good set with a lot of life left in it, for less than half the price of a new set.

So now that you know all this - go out and practice. Like with anything else, same goes for riding a bike - practice makes perfect. You will get more comfortable and know what to do before you get into that turn. Try to remember your braking point, turn in point and line and try to hit them every time. If you are not going fast enough you probably will wonder where these should be. If you are still wondering, don’t hurry yourself, you are not there yet. Once you are at the right speed it will all come together and you will see where all these points are. Of course with practice you will fix the last thing that’s holding you back - your mind. Once you get up to speed, your mind will get used to it and it will all seem easier.

Don’t forget your gear. Road rash is a bitch

During the “discovery” phase: I noticed pulsing when I used the front brake. I never felt this when the bike was new, but by around 2000 miles on the clock it started becoming noticable. At this moment, at about 5000 miles, it’s obvious and disconcerting, eroding all my faith in the brakes. The pulsing isn’t felt at the lever, only at the front wheel. And it’s definitely speed sensitive, reducing in frequency as the bike slows. The stock rotors are made by Brembo (usually considered near the top of the heap).

During the “analysis” phase: I every test I could think of to determine the problem. I measured run-out, I bled the system, I checked wear patterns, I cleaned the rotors, I changed pads, I disassembled and reassembled the front end, I loosened the buttons (recommended on www.guzzitech.com). I spent hours online and questioned many other knowledgable shadetree moto-mechanics, all to NO avail. I was convinced it was the rotors, but had no difinitive proof. At this point, the only way to know was to replace them (not cheap, to the tune of $500).

 During the “replacement” phase: I ordered the latest EBC replacement rotors and crossed my fingers. I’ve been a fan of EBC products for quite awhile, and the rotors listed in their catalog as proper fitment for my model, ‘06 Moto Guzzi Breva 1100, we’re MD636X. It was a pain to get these, as NO ONE had them in stock, so they had to be ordered from England (not enough Guzzis in the US, I guess). So after a month, I finally had my replacement rotors.

Before mounting them (because I’ve been burned many times before), I set the stock rotor and the EBC rotor on a flat surface next to each other. Surprise, Surprise, they were the wrong ones!!! All the measurements were right except one; there was an offset difference (that’s the distance between the mounting surface and the rotor) of 5mm. You might be able to get away with 1mm off, but at 5mm, you’d never be able to bolt the calipers back to the forks, and even if you could, they would drag so bad you wouldn’t be able to move the bike and probably cause quite a bit of damage in the process.

So I called EBC directly. I talked to their technical guy, Garry, who I’ve dealt with in the past. Garry was quite helpful and accomodating, and after several emails and phone calls and discussions about dimensions, we determined that the best option was to try another rotor used by several other manufacturers including Guzzi, MD2003X, that seemed to have the closest match to my stock measurements. EBC shipped this second set of rotors to me free of charge and asked that if they worked, to tell them and they’d issue a Call Tag (free shipping for me) to return the original set. If that didn’t work, Garry said they would build a set of custom rotors for me! Unexpected.

Fortunately, the MD2003X fit perfectly (yes, I measured them before I attempted a remount)! I also sent my stock rotors to EBC for analysis as to what may have been causing the problem. Since the stock rotors were the obvious problem, I’m still baffled, especially since the run-out was within tolerance. The only plausible theories I can come up with are: the rotor material itself developed some kind of wear or hardening that caused the coefficient of friction to vary around the perimeter of the rotor OR that some type of “coning” took place that wasn’t obvious when taking my run-out measurements. I do know that the rotor on the left side wasn’t centered very well in the caliper (nearly rubbing on one side) and this may have caused an asymetric stress that worsened over time. Who knows?

In the meantime, the Guzzi is back on the road and I have the confidence back in my brakes.

Rhino

If you say “zero” or just use your mirrors, you’re a moron and will become a hood ornament soon enough.

Lately, I’ve been reading a book by Larry Grodsky called “Stayin’ Safe”. This book is a compilation of a bunch of the safety columns he wrote for Rider magazine. While Larry’s observations have been interesting and enlightening, I’m not a big fan of his writing style. But he does encourage you to ask questions instead of just accepting the current status quo of what the “safety experts” preach. How many fingers should you use on the front brake? Is there really a one-size-fits-all answer?

One of Larry’s recommendations, related to headchecks, is that while they are necessary and prudent for all riders, that taking your eyes off the road ahead is dangerous. And that the only way to minimize this risk is to check just once, and as quickly as you can.

I completely disagree!

I say three times, and here’s my reasoning (Warning: I’m about to use science and calculus. Geez, I never thought I’d use that form of mathematics for something like this).

First, remember as Larry suggests, your looks should be very brief, almost like snapshots.

The first time you look, your brain gathers information about your relative position only. You see where you are in reference to all the other road users. In math, you can give this snapshot a value of “x”. If you stop looking at this point, you have no way to tell anything except where everyone else is, but nothing about how things may change in the coming moments.

The second time you look, your brain is able to process velocity information. This is because you are gathering new positional information with the added component of a change in time. In calculus, a change in position, delta x (dx), divided by a change in time, delta t (dt), yeilds velocity (v = dx/dt). That’s why we express velocity in unit like miles PER hour. This second look tells you how fast everyone else is moving. While most folks would be content to stop here (and you might be justified 95% of the time), without knowing whether someone is speeding up or slowing down (acceleration/deceleration), you can’t make the best decision about you immediate future. Like when that person coming up from behind decides maybe they can beat you to that gap if they “put the hammer down”.

The third time you look, your brain can gather this acceleration information. Again using calculus, a change in velocity, delta v (dv), divided by a change in time, delta t (dt), yeilds acceleration (a = dv/dt). This information tells you brain not just how fast someone may be approaching you, but also whether they are changing their rate. This can be of particular importance because many other drivers will change their speed based on your position in order to let you in or race you to the gap.

Of course timing your headchecks far enough apart to gather the most information and planing the last one to correspond to a couple seconds before you’ll have to make your move is also highly recommended.

If no one’s around, then 1 headcheck is probably enough to give you the information you need. If there are other vehicles around, but they aren’t real close, you can get away with 2 headchecks which will tell you if anyone is coming with a head of steam. But if there’s some serious traffic going on, with 3 headchecks, you can get all the details you need to make the best decision about how to blend into the traffic stream. Just don’t spend too long with your eyes diverted from the most accident prone area between 10 and 2.

Rhino

A bit of good advice

I purchased it as a valuable reminder and as fodder for my moto-themed garage.

I fear that many of our brethern have found themselves in this situation with the subsequent unpleasant consequences. I myself have periodocally found myself making mid-corner correction as a result of stunning scenery.

 If you are riding, watch the road. If you want to sightsee, pull over!

Rhino

First Snow of the Season

For those of you science and engineering types: PV=nRT. This is called the Ideal Gas Law and it means if volume is the same (ie… your tires aren’t leaking), when the temperature drops, so does the pressure. If you’ve lost 20 degrees since the last time you took your tire pressure, I guarantee you’re under-inflated!

While some folks think running lower tire pressure is a good idea in cold weather, it’s not true! Newer tires (you are running tire that are less than 4 years old, right?) especially radials, rely more on air pressure than the carcass for they’re proper shape. Keeping your tires up to the manufacturer’s recommendations insures good handling, better traction as well as improved gas mileage. And believe it or not, you are much less likely to get a flat if your tires are properly inflated.

When random samples are taken wherever groups of motorcycles frequently park, the typical result is that more than half were low, with about 10% in the danger range. I tend to check my pressure about once a week. I checked all of my bikes as well as my van today and found ALL were low! While the numbers were only a few pounds (3-4 psi) in most cases, we’re talking 10% - 20%. While 10% is hard to notice, 20% creates a noticeable handling difference which usually manifests as slowed steering and a vague feeling. That sharp and crisp feeling is gone.

So do yourself a favor and check your pressures before your next ride. And don’t forget to compare your pressure gauge to several other to make sure it’s at least in the ballpark. And remember, if you are on or just finished a ride, let your tire cool to ambient temperature before taking a reading (riding causes tire pressure to increase due to heat, ya know, that Ideal Gas Law thing again!).

Be careful out there,

Rhino

It’s not an obvious feeling, but everything is just a bit duller than normal, just a little “off”. It’s as if you’ve put some light mosquito netting over your head or there’s a little fog floating around in your brain. This isn’t very scientific, I know, but it’s real. I’ve talked to riding friends who’ve talked about the same symptoms and I seem to expereince it myself about once or twice a month. I call this state “the miasma” (look it up).

Beware of this condition, it can put you in harm’s way.

Some of the things I’ve noticed that can cause it are: not getting enough sleep, the day after drinking or drugging (legal or illegal), riding too long in one day (I also get a metal taste in my mouth when I do this), cold or flu, emotional distress (angry, blue, depressed), a long, hard day at work.

While motorcycle publications will tell you all the obvious physical things to do and watch out for, they rarely warn you about those subtle, mental things which can cause just as much danger.

You need to recognize when the miasma is effecting you and either decide not to ride (best choice) or ride leaving yourself more time to react to potential trouble. Part of being an true motorcyclist is knowing when not to ride.

You’ll never see this kind of observation in any medical journal because it’s too hard to measure scientifically, but it exists and can put you at even more risk than you normally experience.

Be careful out there!

Rhino

I’ve tried to minimize my exposure by limiting my riding at dusk, slowing down in posted areas and keeping my scan on full if there are any indications of animal presence. But I still have that nagging feeling it’ll never be enough.

Most riders know that deer (as well as several other mammals) come out at dusk, are most numerous toward the end of summer and are more prevalent in rural areas. But even so, you could still tag one in your neighborhood in the dead of winter. For every statistical probability, there’s an exception. And it’s this randomness that scares me the most. No matter how many precautions you take or how much care you exercise, you can become a victim in an instant.

In fact, I personally know 3 riders who have had deer strikes. The latest was in eastern Oregon just a few weeks ago. The result of his encounter was a concussion, 6 broken ribs, a punctured lung, and a broken collarbone. He was wearing the highest quality gear and fortunately was spared any road rash. He actually is quite fortunate; he’s still alive! Many don’t get to contemplate their misfortune. His bike can be repaired, his bones will heal and eventually he’ll ride again; but never with same carefree feeling he once knew. His riding paranoia quotient has increased forever.

My own very recent reminder was as I was passing near Craig, CO (northwestern part of state) on my way back from some great riding near Ft. Collins. I was tooling along at the speed limit (65 MPH) on US-40; a fairly deserted two-laner in the boonies. I had crested a rise and was descending a long grade. There was no sign of wildlife anywhere. And even though many signs warned me that deer could be crossing, we’ve all seen enough of these that it’s the old “boy who cried wolf” syndrome

Headed toward me, descending a similar grade across the gulch from me were two pick-up trucks. The guy behind decided to pass, and pulled out into my lane. My quick internal computation concluded there was plenty of time for a successful overtake. But as is prudent, I continued watching and updating the calculations. Just as the second vehicle drew alongside the first, a deer, hidden next to the road in the tall grass, sprinted across the road and ran directly into the side of the front wheel of the passer. I was shocked! The animal made no attempt at evasion, but looked like a linebacker headed for a running back. Like it was trying to commit suicide.

Because the animal hit the side of the vehicle and not the front, it had very little effect on the trucks trajectory. The animal came out so fast neither driver had time to make any evasive manuever and luckily no collision ensued (it would have happened directly in my path of travel). The only significant result was a very mangled and freshly dead carcass in my lane. Fortunately, I still had several seconds of reaction time, so it wasn’t much an avoidance issue, but talk about a gut wrenching sight!

The driver that hit the animal continued as if nothing had happened, while the trailing driver pulled over. I’ve asked myself a bunch of times if the guy that pulled over was going to try to render some kind of SPCA type assistance, be a good smaritan and drag the remains out of the lane of travel or put venison on the table that night? I’ll never know.

Large free ranging mammals are potential injury or death to a motorcyclist. This includes not only deer, but elk, antelope, moose and even cows and sheep. In my opinion, were are way too concerned with protecting these animals. We’ve killed their predators, attempted to manage their numbers and popular culture has made cudily characters out of their images. For these reason current wildlife populations are larger than ever in the history of this country. My personal opinion is that any large animal near a road needs killing! Animals don’t understand logic, they understand threat. In fact, during hunting season, the deer which may have hung out near the road the rest of the year, suddenly are nowhere to be found.

Just as we demand bears be kept away from trash, so should deer be kept away from proximity of pavement. They have plenty of options further out in the wilderness, so when they start showing up near roads and in populated areas, they need to be killed. We get all bent out of shape when a mountain lion takes out a hiker and demand they be killed. Do you have any idea how many people are killed hitting animals on the road? How about 300 a year. Sounds like a much more serious problem than mountain lions to me?

Here’s a link to a very scientific study on what’s going on with animal/vehicle collisions these days. Some of the biggest conclusions: it’s increasing and motorcyclists have a much higher fatality rate than those in enclosed vehicles:

http://www.wemjournal.org/wmsonline/?request=get-document&issn=1080-60 32&volume=017&issue=04&page=0229

While I’d like to admonish all you riders out there to remain alert and careful, I afraid the randomness of animal strikes has no reliable deterrent.

 Rhino

This is my list of do’s and don’t. I’d like to hear from you, if you’ve got any to add. 

Motorcycle Passenger Rules (REQUIRED) 

1)     If you don’t trust or feel comfortable with someone, don’t ride with them. (As a minimum, insist on a valid motorcycle license and insurance. After that, motorcycle specific training, several years of experience and the desire to make your comfort their highest priority should seal the deal )

2)     Hold onto the operator, NOT hand holds, seat straps, grab rails, bodywork, etc. (The best way to hold the operator is with hands on the sides of the operator’s waist.  This allows grip during both accel and decel circumstances and it’s less intrusive than other positions)

3)     Mount and dismount ONLY when instructed by the operator to do so. (Failure to notify the operator is likely to result in a bike on it’s side and two people sprawled across the pavement)

4)     Keep your feet on the passenger footrests at all times. (Never let you feet dangle as they may get caught in the rear wheel or your leg burned on the exhaust pipe. Also, never try to dismount the motorcycle by putting your foot directly on the ground, it’s very difficult for most passengers to reach the ground from the passenger seat)

5)     Carry proper identification, medic alert info, extra cash and a CEL phone.

6)     Wear proper protective gear EVERY time you ride. 

Motorcycle Passenger Rules (SUGGESTED) 

1)     Look up! It reduces the feeling of speed. During turns, look over the inside shoulder of the operator. Stay directly behind the operator at all times. Never lean into or away from the turn.

2)     When a substantial bump is approaching, raise up just a little to let your legs absorb some of the impact.

3)     Don’t move around much, especially during critical situations like slowing/stopping, accelerating and turns. It makes the bike unstable and hard to control. If you need to move more than a few inches, tell the operator and get acknowledgement first.

4)     Try to anticipate deceleration (slowing/stopping) to keep your helmet from contacting the operator.

5)     Keep the chatter to a minimum. It’s a distraction. Only talk briefly and succinctly.

6)     Inform the operator immediately if you are uncomfortable and need to stop, especially if it’s their driving that’s making you nervous.

7)     Look around and enjoy the view, the smells and the feel of the wind. Notice the temperature subtly changes in different environments. Be glad you don’t have to pay as much attention to the road and can just enjoy the sensations. 

Motorcycle Operator Rules (REQUIRED) 

1)     Check tire pressure, and if necessary, add pressure to compensate for added weight.

2)     Check suspension settings and if necessary, increase preload for added weight.

3)     Check fuel quantity often and allow for decreased fuel mileage.

4)     Give first time passengers a briefing entailing your requirements and expectations. (And consider reminding even mutli-time passengers, especially if you are likely to encounter unique conditions such as inclement weather, bad road conditions or other unusual situations)

5)     Know that the performance of your motorcycle will be reduced. (Longer braking distances, longer acceleration distances and less precise handling will result from any additional loading. Also, your rear brake can be more effective with a passenger supplying additional force over the rear contact patch. Unexpected wheelies can manifest under hard acceleration)

6)     Tell your passenger when you are ready for them to mount/dismount the motorcycle.

7)     Have a plan and let someone know where you are going and when you expect to return.

     Carry all proper documents (license, registration and insurance) as well as medical conditions, allergies and emergency contact information. 

Motorcycle Operator Rules (SUGGESTED) 

1)     You can’t ride as far two-up, don’t try, you’ll both be miserable. (You will both have a lot less room to move around. You won’t realize this until you are locked into one position for a few hours.) 

2)     Develop a sign language for basic communication. (Have simple gestures or touches that indicate the need to stop, slow down, go to the bathroom, get food, get water, take a photo, etc.)

3)     Be attentive, if your passenger is in need, it your job to accommodate them since they have no control.

4)     Relax your pace, give yourself more reaction time to compensate for performance degradation.

5)     Ride in such a manner as to minimize G-forces. This makes it easier for your passenger to feel stable and safe. 

The happier your passenger, the more likely you’ll be offered another chance to share the experience again. I can always tell when I’ve given a good ride. My passenger asks for another! 

Rhino