Yeah, I gave the bike a "once over". No damage. I'll call the city Monday morning. That's pretty unsafe. It might be 3 years before they do anything about it though.

personally, it's mainly about the rider. some bikes can help or hurt in certain situations, but the rider makes the most difference. case in point, I ride the quickest production bike on the planet and I'm still around. Owned a Busa for 28k miles (and that includes riding in the winter) and not a single incident. I recall a few folks that said I would be dead within a week or two of buying the Busa. gee, still here folks.

Now, my wife's bike is definitely a different animal so I adjust to it. yeah, brakes aren't as good, cornering isn't as good, etc, so I give myself more room/time/viewing area to ride safely and get to where I'm going. Yeah, people that are hauling butt or being inattentive (like not planning for the worst) will more than likely wreck or worse. I hope not. just saying.

It's not what ya ride, it's THAT you ride. and ride safely!!!

Good luck to you all and Enjoy!!

Scot "Z"

One bonus for an open-faced helmet is that you can shout very loud!!

Here's another question. I've owned a black LS650 over the years. Lately, I added a white S40 to the garage.

Riding city traffic with lots of left turners and cars waiting at stop signs to the right, I have a strong impression from observing driver heads and faces (and behavior) that they see the white bike better.

Is the white paint more visible? Are they seeing it and focusing in or double-taking to see if it is a police motorcycle?

I don't know. It does occur to me though, that a motorist may quickly glance and see a bike, but not register it... it being smaller than a car and its distance harder to judge. Even for me, I have to hold my attention for a full second or so, say on a bike coming up in a side mirror, in order to digest its distance, speed, and relation to me.

For protection from cagers, it's good to have some way to go beyond being in their visual sweep, and to actually cause their eye to stop on you for a moment of "Huh?" if possible.

Impractical, I know, but taking gizzo's point above, I'll bet if you rode with long hair and beard, white robes and desert sandals, maybe with a coat hanger holding a white LED halo over your head, everybody would see you, and look at you for a good long time. Just sayin'.

Triggering a double take is clearly the idea behind the various blinking and pulsating headlights and brake lights available.

High-viz lime green safety vests have the same purpose, but I swear, orange and lime traffic painted objects have become so common that people may have become numb to them.

If you are concerned that you're not being seen, take action. Be Seen.
I've explained how several times, if you haven't seen it, ask, I'll do it again, but I think we should have a defensive driving techniques sticky.

What do you suggest?

The thing that can drive you nuts in traffic is, with left turners and people on the right at stop signs or pulling out of parking lots/spaces, you can study them and prepare possible escape routes all you want, but there is a time window -- usually about one second from the car moving until you hit it -- when you are exposed. The only way to shrink the window is to control speed and be ready to swerve and or lock up brakes instantly, not after taking time to grab for them.

But still there's that little second where the laws of physics can't be overcome...

Sonny wrote on 08/13/15 at 18:20:45:


I think the number of miles put on is a huge factor, I once read that the safest place to ride a motorcycle in the US based on fatalities was February in Wisconsin.