Biker and Motorcycle Lawyer Blog / Blawg

Life in the wind

Being a long-time motorcycle rider, I am often asked by non-motorcycle riders why I ride.

I explain to them that there is nothing like taking my motorcycle out on the open road and "getting in the wind." I try to explain to them that for me it's like a spiritual and meditative experience. When I get on the open road my senses become hyper-alert, yet my mind becomes totally calm. Riding a motorcycle on the open road is unlike any other type of motor vehicle experience. You can "smell the smells," see the sights, and feel the road. Only someone that has actually ridden a motorcycle will understand what I'm trying to say.

Riding on city streets is not the same as riding on the freeway or the open road, however, it is pleasurable nonetheless.

The experience of riding a motorcycle is hard to explain in words. There is nothing like sitting on top of a powerful machine on two wheels riding through the Arizona desert at 75 mph, or riding through the twisties in the Angeles Crest National Forest. It's almost as if you and the motorcycle become one. The motorcycle responds to your every movement. When riding, I sometimes feel like I am flying. Again, it's something that you have to experience for yourself to understand.

Motorcycle riders of all types, experience a bond and comradery that cagers do not have. No matter what type of motorcycle you ride, you feel a kinship to other motorcycle riders that you see on the road, I guess because you know that their experiencing the same thing that you are. It's a great feeling riding down the road and having every other motorcycle that passes by shoot you what is called "the biker wave." Bikers and motorcycle riders for the most part are the most friendliest, and trustworthy people that have ever met.

My Personal Experiences

The purpose of this article is to provide safety tips while riding your motorcycle and to share my personal experiences and recommendations on safety as a biker and a lawyer.

Having ridden motorcycles for many years, and also being a motorcycle lawyer, I have had many fantastic and outright scary experiences while riding on the road. Riding a motorcycle is not like driving a car. You are completely exposed to the elements, cars, and other motor vehicles, except for your clothes and your helmet if you use one.

There is an old biker saying; "it's not a matter of if you're going to go down, it's a matter of when."

I have gone down on a couple of occasions and it was not fun. As a matter of fact, it was downright painful. Luckily, I was not seriously injured.

Since I ride thousands of miles on my motorcycle each year, I have experienced many different type of scenarios on the open road, and on city streets. I have had many close calls which could have turned out to be disasters.

On one occasion when I went down, I was riding with a group of other motorcyclists in Palm Springs California. One of the other riders for unexplained reasons pulled ahead of me and proceeded to literally turn left right in front of me. I had no time to stop. I had two choices; I could have either T-boned the other rider which would have caused major injuries to both of us, or laid the bike down. I chose to lay the bike down. I thank God that I was not seriously injured and that there was only minor damage to the bike. You should've seen the look on the other riders face. I believe that the other rider had been drinking alcohol before the accident. By laying my bike down, I saved him and myself.

Nowadays, I absolutely refuse to ride alongside other motorcyclists who have been drinking. It's not only illegal, but it's downright dangerous. You never know what they're going to do.

As I have said, I have had more than a few close calls. On one occasion while riding on Interstate 40 near Kingman Arizona, I pulled off the highway to get gas. I had my fiancé on the back of my motorcycle riding shotgun. If you have ever ridden through the Arizona desert at night, you'll know that it's pitch dark aside from the headlights on your motorcycle. To make a long story short, as I was turning left off the road to go to the gas station, I hit gravel in the road. Gravel, sand, and oil are a motorcycle rider's worst nightmare, because a motorcycle only has two wheels, and those wheels lose traction on gravel, sand, oil, water, and other slippery surfaces. Suffices to say, I was able to keep the motorcycle up while sliding through the gravel, and it was a very close call. We were lucky that we do not go down.

I had another very close call at a major biker rally in Las Vegas a couple of years back. First off, Las Vegas is probably not the best place in the world to have a biker rally. As everyone knows, Las Vegas is a 24-hour gambling and drinking city. There are drunks on the road 24 hours a day in Las Vegas. To make a long story short, I was riding on a side street off of the strip with four other bikes, and I had my fiancé as usual on the back of my motorcycle riding shotgun. I was leading the pack in the number one lane. (The number one lane is the lane closest to the center divider.) Literally out of nowhere, a drunk pulled out of a casino parking lot and turned left directly into my lane, right in front of me. There was nothing I could do but to lock up the back tire, and countersteer to the right in preparation to lay the bike down to avoid hitting the car. In what seemed like an act of God, the car accelerated very fast right in front of me, and I was able by the grace of God, to pull the bike back up before I laid it down. I was riding a very heavy motorcycle with a backseat passenger. The riders behind me told me that they could not believe that I was able to keep the bike up. Let me tell you, I am not even close to being the best motorcycle rider in the world, I consider myself to be just above average as a motorcycle rider. God was with us that night.

I will give one more example of a very close call that I was involved in; I was leading a pack of approximately 20 motorcycles on a run to Santa Barbara on the 101 freeway last year. We were riding in a side-by-side formation (also known as coffin formation) in the number one lane. The 101 freeway has basically no median to speak of in the area in which we were riding. We were rolling at approximately 70 mph. Out of nowhere, a mattress appeared directly in front of us. There was nowhere to go, and we had milliseconds to react. Luckily the guys I was riding with were all experienced motorcycle riders. Instinctively I immediately swerved to the left to avoid the mattress, while the rider next to me swerved to the right to avoid the mattress. Had there been a car next to the rider on the right, it would have been all over. The guys riding behind us observed our movements, and were able to avoid hitting the mattress. We were all lucky that day, and it sure got the adrenaline pumping.

There are many other examples I could give you of close calls that I've experienced or witnessed. You will notice in the above examples, that accidents and close calls were usually either the result of other motorcycle riders, cagers, bad road conditions, or obstacles in the road.

As a motorcycle lawyer I have seen the worst case scenarios where catastrophic injuries resulted to motorcycle riders in accidents. The purpose of this article is to try to make you aware of what's out there, and to give you motorcycle safety tips based upon my first-hand experience as a motorcycle rider, and a motorcycle lawyer.

Inspect your Motorcycle

Before each riding, you should visually inspect your motorcycle to ensure that nothing is loose, and that there is no visible damage. Unlike in a car where you can simply pull off to the side of the road when you have a malfunction, on a motorcycle there in many cases are no second chances. A tire blowout could be catastrophic, or a loose bolt could result in disaster.

A simple cursory inspection of your motorcycle before each ride, could mean the difference between life and death.

If you find the loose bolts simply tighten them. If you find a nail in your tire, or visible damage to your tire, ensure that you get the problem fixed before you ride.

Do not take chances and ride your motorcycle when you know that there are problems. It's not worth risking your life for.

Tire Pressure

Ensuring that you have proper tire pressure in the tires of your motorcycle is much more important than the tire pressure in your car. Since motorcycles only have two tires, there is no room for error.

Having proper tire pressure will not only ensure that your bike handles properly, but will also greatly increase the safety of your ride, especially in turns and in corners.

You should always inflate your tires to the recommended pressure that your motorcycle manufacturer recommends. If you have switched from the stock tires that came with your motorcycle, to another type of brand, you should inflate the tires to the recommended levels for that particular brand.

When in doubt, simply call your local motorcycle dealership, and ask the service department what the recommended tire pressure is for your motorcycle, with your brand of tires.

I recommend that you check your tire pressure, before each ride.

Another variable is climate change. An example is; let's say that you have inflated your tires to 35 pounds in the summer. What do you think your tire pressure will be in the colder temperatures during the winter? If you answer the question by saying that your tire pressure would be less, you're right. Colder weather decreases the tire pressure in your tires, whereas warmer weather increases the tire pressure in your tires.
Do not take a chance, check this tire pressure in your motorcycle tires regularly.

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