r/motorcycles • • 6h ago

This is why I train at least twice a year with MSF. They never saw me.

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300 Upvotes

r/motorcycles • • 11h ago

Half of fatal car/bike collisions happen from cars turning left in front of you

307 Upvotes

This is just a reminder to everyone.

In the US, half of multi-vehicle motorcycle incidents that result in a fatality for the rider are due to a car turning left (their left, across your lane) without seeing you. Always be expecting this to happen at intersections and have a plan for dealing with it even if it appears as if the driver is staring directly at you.

The reasons why this happens have to do with how the brain optimizes repetitive tasks and how our eyes move left to right. A person in a car can stare directly at you and not actually "see" you because the brain becomes habituated to scanning for larger vehicles. Our eyes also move in jumping motions when scanning, called saccades, and one jump to the next jump can be enough to fully pass over the thinner profile of a motorcycle.

One of the best ways to ride safer is to try to remain close to other cars when riding through intersections (the turning vehicle may not see you, but they will see the car you are next to). Simply slowing down a little more at intersections, especially if a car is waiting to turn across your lane, can be effective as well.

Outside of going wide in a curve, this is the most likely reason to lose your life on a motorbike.

NHTSA Motorcycle Accident Data


r/motorcycles • • 19h ago

17 day ride across the Indian Himalayas on Himi 450

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706 Upvotes

Recently made a 17 day trip in the Himalayas. Three riders, all on Himalayan 450. Bikes were awesome. Really made for the terrain.

As the photos demonstrate, we had the perfect weather. Just an hour of monsoon rain as we approached Shimla was enough to get the flavour

Seasonally light rains blessed us with conditions that enabled us to tackle further reaches of altitude and remote gravel

The Sach Pass was a particular highlight, as was the loop from Kaza to Komic and Demul. Few other vehicles, full gravel and epic scenery. Hard to beat as riding days go

The Spiti Valley is often called ‘Little Tibet’ and with good reason. Buddhism is the prevailing way of living and it makes for a genuinely beautiful experience

For my part this is one of the finest trips I’ve ever made. As Peter generously described the tour: ‘a home run’

I’ll take that

Happy to share the route if there’s interest


r/motorcycles • • 9h ago

1973 Triumph in my dad's shed for 30+ years.

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68 Upvotes

It kicks over as it should, feels like it has good compression, but zero chance it will start without some work. It was sitting in my dad's shed for the last 30 years and has some rust. He got it as a project bike but his Harleys had his interest. My mom wants to get his old shed cleaned out but thought I'd post here as a goodbye.


r/motorcycles • • 21h ago

Just had something funny happen on my morning ride.

235 Upvotes

I just had this lady in front of me signaling the hell outta some cops in the vicinity, tapping her head. I thought it was kind of weird because she was in a car, but figured she knew the lingo. l'm looking around like "oh shit, where's the boys?". She's doing it pretty hard so im like, "damn, am I about to get pulled over by an invisible cop?". I pull up a little more to get a better look at her, mannnn..She had braids and was trying to itch her head by slapping it. LOL I had a good laugh! I just had to tell someones. Happy hump day!


r/motorcycles • • 1d ago

Anyone have any idea what kinda wheel this is

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423 Upvotes

I'm new to the motorcycle scene I'm thinking of getting a Suzuki Gixxer SF 250 I wanna get wheels like this on it would it be possible?


r/motorcycles • • 14h ago

the B12 is back in my possession. What a motorcycle. Unbelievable amounts of fun.

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64 Upvotes

r/motorcycles • • 1d ago

Enjoying my last rides before winter on the lovely Z900RS

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322 Upvotes

r/motorcycles • • 9h ago

Parents who ride how did you tell your kids how you felt about them riding if you didn't want them to?

15 Upvotes

For some context I was in line at the store today and got to hear a massive scream fest between a mom and what looked to be a 16 to 17 year old. Essentially it ended with I hate you and whatever lol . From somebody whose dad road most of his life and whose mom repeatedly said I could never own one, I told her that I'd be buying one with my own money got hit with "not under my roof"and said that I'll move out at 18. I later came back and said do you want to have two years of me riding where you can see how I act or just not know when I've moved out. Ended up getting one at 17 with my own money on my birthday. I won't lie I didn't go past a permit for a few years so I was extra careful since I couldn't afford to get pulled over. But 9 years into riding I still am careful because I know there's no recovering after a 160mph crash in a way that's worth it. And people just don't see you when you're on a bike a lot of the time. Also I'll be damned if the last thing I see is the coexist sticker on the back of some bottle blondes Kia soul. Thank you for coming to my TED talk.


r/motorcycles • • 10h ago

Should I ride my 21' R3 from WA to CA (850 miles) for college?

18 Upvotes

Hi all,

I'm currently debating taking my R3 to college with me. I already started at my school, but since they don't offer parking permits to first years, I didn't bring it. I'm would be riding from Washington to California, so excited about the riding weather & lane filtering!

Now, I have a upperclassmen friend who's willing to store it in their garage for $50/month. I would love to have it down here but the real issue is the commute. It's a 850 mile drive from me to my college. My bike is a 2021 R3 with 3600 miles on it. I would be basically adding 20% to the odometer every ride there or back, not to mention the 13 hour drive on a r3. I'm kind of planning on upgrading, so I don't really want to devalue the bike that much.

My parents may be able to drive down with a trailer sometime when they visit, but that might not be for a while. I also considered shipping it, but it would be 20% of the bikes value to ship.

What would be the best way to go here? Try to find someone making the same commute with space for a bike? Don't bring it at all?


r/motorcycles • • 11h ago

Kawasaki 2008 zzr600 full restoration results.

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22 Upvotes

I was given this bike bv a familv friend, had a title, but wasn't running and had so manv problems its hard to even rember. Main ones were, carbs clogged, one wasn't fillina. broken carb float. no breaks, broken master cylinder/front reservoir, 9in stretch, dentec front and rear wheel. horrible chain, and the vaulves were out of spec. And had a carb fire ar one point so burnt eletrical. However. has less than 18k miles. and had good comprehension on all four cylinders, and it was free. So 4 months latter and 2.5 arand I have this. This is my second bike, and first ever full frame off restoration so I probably made some mistakes but I am incredibly happy with the results. Stil waiting on a pair of wheels at a paint shop, and a master link tool which is whv the chain is so slack. and the current rims are still dented and crapy. I dic use a clip master link for a bit, and the motor ran areat on all cvlinders, had no issues after about a week.


r/motorcycles • • 12h ago

Fantastic BMW Motorrad event at Barber Motorsports Park this past weekend. Very highly recommended.

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23 Upvotes

I attended a BMW Motorrad even at Barber Motorsports Park near Birmingham this past weekend. For those who haven't been, it's an outstanding track called the "Augusta National of motorsports tracks" because of its beautiful rolling hills. The event included a vintage race for bikes of all makes and lots of vendors and bike displays. BMW, Triumph, the big 3, and others had very large bike displays and demo rides.

What sets the track apart is the Barber Motorcycle Museum, which is right next to the course. Over 1,000 motorcycles on display and another several hundred in storage. Largest motorcycle museum in the world covering 5 floors. Absolutely incredible if you're a bike fan. Because we had BMW VIP tickets, we got to attend a night in the museum event that included drinks, food, and the run of the museum. They have an on-site restoration facility. A huge majority of the bikes run. They have some bikes that are irreplaceable. Also the icons of past days - Yamaha TZ750s, Honda RC30s and RC45s, Britten Grand Prix bike. Anything you can imagine.

I highly recommend seeing it in your lifetime. Some pics attached. Cheers!


r/motorcycles • • 22h ago

People who ride to work, how often a week would you do it?

118 Upvotes

With the price of fuel, I am considering getting a license and riding to work (no greater incentive) and I was wondering for the people who do it, how often would you do it?

I am also doubling it up to get a bike to go out bush with in Victoria, Australia


r/motorcycles • • 9h ago

Can anyone help me identify this gas tank

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13 Upvotes

r/motorcycles • • 9h ago

My new saddlebags from customspain just arrived. What di you think of them?

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10 Upvotes

After 10 years of honorable service, my $80 Pakistani saddlebags, which were only supposed to last one season, have finally decided to retire.

Naturally, I took this as an excuse to spend a bit more on their replacement. What do you reckon — a worthy upgrade, or have I officially lost the plot?

( after and before)


r/motorcycles • • 14h ago

Learning to ride a motorcycle before a car?

22 Upvotes

Has anyone here learned to ride a motorcycle before a car? I’m trying to get my license for my motorcycle because I don’t have a car nor anyone to teach me how to. Is it recommended to know how to drive a car before hopping on a motorcycle?


r/motorcycles • • 12h ago

I have a type that comes in all sizes. The wife and I are gonna have a fun season on our big and smalls.

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14 Upvotes

Picked up a Navi for the wife to ride around at the camps. It’s on like donkey Kong.


r/motorcycles • • 10h ago

Those of you with bikes that allow you to configure how powerful the engine braking is when you come off the throttle, what do you set it to and why?

9 Upvotes

So I kind of have a love/hate relationship with the engine braking on my bike (For the record I am a fairly new rider with about 4 months experience).

On the one hand I feel like I would like as little engine braking as possible in first gear because of how severe it is and how it must make slow speed manoeuvres with the clutch a lot smoother if the engine just gradually rolls off.

But on the other side of the coin I am something of a fan of using engine braking over the brakes at higher speed to slow down.

So really my question is, those of you whose bikes offer the ability to configure your engine braking to be more/less severe, what do you set it to and why do you think that's better?

Edit: For those confused, I am talking about the electronic engine management units many more modern bikes have that allow you to have configure how powerful (Or not) the bikes engine braking is. This is independent of the gears, clutch or clutch control.


r/motorcycles • • 2h ago

Help needed, Ktm 530 2011 throttle cutting out

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2 Upvotes

Over the weekend i had gone riding and noticed the throttle completely cutting out in the higher rpm range after the bike was hot. When I stopped, there was a small amount of coolant coming from the overflow. I let the bike rest so I could ride home with no issues on the way back, went out again the next day and the same symptoms showed.

So far I have checked the water pump, it seems to be fine. Have gutted the thermostat and put in new coolant as well as checked spark plug condition. (There is no bubbling in coolant or smoke from exhaust)

I just wanted to see from the community if there is any additional recommendations on what to do / check to identify the cause as I'm fairly handy but not a mechanic.


r/motorcycles • • 17h ago

Anyone ever feel like they spent too much money on gear?

30 Upvotes

Recently did the math on all the gear I've purchased since I started riding a few months ago and it all adds up to almost $3000. A lot of that was for safety related apparel like my helmet and my airbag backpack, and I do feel like it's all high quality stuff that's worth the price. Still, a part of me wonders if maybe I shouldn't have gone out and spent this much. It's not like I can't afford it, but it almost feels... reckless? How much did you guys spend on gear when you started out?


r/motorcycles • • 1d ago

Can you please explain some of the science behind DB Killers?

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263 Upvotes

So I'm looking for a DB killer for my bike and I'm curious about these 2 particular models, which should be quieter? (based on their design) I'm sure they will add some back pressure.. is it good? It's crazy to see so many design options with no information about its DB reduction, I guess it's a trial and error game (?).

Also, I read that reducing the diameter at the output of the muffler is better than inserting one of this in the muffler, is it true? Any guidance will be greatly appreciated!


r/motorcycles • • 1d ago

Upgraded from a Sedici to Shoei and the difference is crazy

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157 Upvotes

Had the sedici starda 3 for a little over a year and the wind noise finally got to me. Picked up the rf1400 today, and the difference is night and day.


r/motorcycles • • 8h ago

What motorcycle covers would yall reccomend for indoor winterizing

4 Upvotes

So since it’s drawing to that time of year I’m wondering what cover yall would reccomend for winterizing. I know there are many options depending on how you store the bike and I’m not tryna get one that ends up being crap.
DETAILS:
- 2023 ninja 400
- will be stored in a garage(garage isn’t heated if that matters)
- will be put on a rear stand maybe a front one also


r/motorcycles • • 8h ago

2k miles on this Bridgestone Battlax RS11

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1 Upvotes

So, im getting ready for a trip, about 600 miles total over 2 days. Mountain trip. Anyone that has run this tire. Would I be able to get those 600 miles without issues? I’ve seen mixed reviews about tire mileage between 1500 (aggressive - track) and 3000 for some commuters. The 2k miles on this tire have been mostly getting familiar with the new bike plus some aggressive backroads.
Bike: Aprilia Tuono v4

I might be able to get the tire replaced tomorrow if need be but there’s a slight chance I might take my other bike due to the weather. Just wanted to see if anyone has experience with this tire and how far I might be from the white section to start showing

TIA


r/motorcycles • • 5h ago

I’m looking for a beater pit bike for track day

1 Upvotes

I’ve been riding for a bit over 2 years now, and I’m hoping to get a track day in before the winter (I ride year round but learning on cold road in the frigid weather is probably not for me). None of the gear I daily is track ready except for my gloves and airbag, so my bank account has been getting rinsed lately. I’m looking for a random beater pit bike to get around and just mess around on between heats, could be a pocket bike because it will literally never see a road other than maybe the one I live on (dead end). I see the random 300 dollar ones online, but I’m looking for recommendations that anyone has for one that will actually run with an adult on it (I’m 5’8 145 lbs) that I won’t have to shrimp pose on.