Bad riding habits. Which ones have you broken, and which ones do you still have?

I have gotten over a few bad habits in my years of riding, ( not all, but some ) but going from a cruiser rider of 15+ years to a sportier bike, like my VFR, there is a plethora of new challenges ahead. I have picked up a few bad habits along the way, and I have broken some of my new(er) bad habits as well.

Anyone else? Whatcha got?

Riding style, Technique, etiquette? Maintenance. Post up here. Let's try and lose the bad habits and make the good ones stay.
Who knows maybe some noobie out there ( like me ) might learn something from your post.

 

We have a lot of country roads out here with 4 way stops. One habit I have picked up is not completely stopping at these signs. I slow the bike to almost stopping and balance it for a brief moment and then go through if it is clear. I have to admit, it is rare that I put a foot down. I know this is not right and could certainly get a ticket for it, but it is fun seeing how slow you can go without actually putting your foot down.

 

Yeah, I do the same thing. I also tend to go 5-20 MPH over the speed limit, if the conditions warrant it (clear field of vision, dry roads, etc.). I'm certain I must have others, but if I knew about them, they wouldn't be habits. :biggrin:

 

here is a free source (read one every morning with coffee) on the most common problems. Of course, I always recommend professional training, but knowledge is power:
Cornering Forum -> Articles

 

I've always gripped the bars too tight. In 12 years, it has gotten less and less. Even going in a straight line on the interstate, if my mind wanders, my hand grip starts tightening and tightening. I drop my elbows, grip the tank with knees and loosen up my arms and hands. By now, I can keep them loose coming into turns and sweepers, but by the exit, I'm holding tight. I don't really know what causes it except reptile brain reaction.

 

fear. next time you are riding try this one (in a safe familiar place). Pitch the bike into a turn and take your hands off the bars (just 1/4 inch please) . The bike will continue to turn and hold line - and will actually turn better than when your hands are on it. Why? locked arms dont allow the suspension and bike to do what it is designed to do. Your arms are fighting the bike and making turning much worse.

if you cant flap your elbows in a turn, you are holding on too tight and your fear will be amplified (extending the problem). Relax

 

Bad habits? I speed too much, on occasion i hold on to the rear end of the tractor trailer, sometimes I go underneath the trailer, I blow lots of red lights and stop signs, I brake too much when traversing corners & tight turns, too much cellphone riding, I weave a wee bit much in a straight lane.

 

Bad habits.....whoa boy, where to start, lol

I speed, from time to time. I just don't see the point in 80kph on a beautiful mountain road sans traffic. If the bike is asking to do 100-110, who am I to say no? I will say that ludicrous-speed ain't my thing, thankfully.
I rarely come to a full stop if the intersection is clear.....just kinda balance the bike without putting a foot down.
I don't check my tires as often as I should. I check the pressure every third or fourth ride, but certainly don't check the rubber for cuts/garbage very often. Not sure why.....I know the tires are my life on the bike.....I just never think of it.

The thing I *really* am trying to work on.....leaning INTO corners. I'm not sure where I picked up the habit (cause it wasn't there for the longest time), but I keep wanting to sit upwards instead of leaning with the bike. I'm fine now as long as I think about it, but it isn't quite muscle memory-ish yet.

 

On trips I sometimes ride longer days than I should. Riding tired isn't a great idea.


I have other bad habits, but speeding isn't one of them. Well, not much anyway . . . .

 

Well, like many here, I like to twist my right wrist a bit too much! I ride 80% on twisty mountain roads (not a long touring rider or commuter), so I "feel" I'm being safe...

Opportunity for improvement - I could look through corners better.

 

Sleeping......................... :yawn:

 

Looking at tight butts, they drive me nuts!.

 

Nice link Beta....added to favorites

 

+1

Thanks Beta. I knew I would gain something useful when I posted this thread all blurry eyed at 1 am last night.

 

My major one is a put to much wait on my arms instead of using my core to keep me upright. My wrists can get very sore after a few hours of riding. Sometimes I catch myself for a little while, but I fall back into the habit.

 

I drive way to fast on certain stretches of highway I know very well.......if a deer ran out in front of me I would not have time to react, and I hold the bars to tight .

 

I tend to speed almost 100% of the time (not too much faster than legal, but still speeding)... Also guilty of not totally stoppin' at stop signs... I also still occassionally drag my feet off the pegs if I've been on the road for a while and my legs feel crampy...

 

Hmmm...well four of my issues are:

1. Not driving deep enough into a turn before turn in.
2. Not snapping the bike over quick enough a.k.a slow turn in
3. Tense on the bars, but only in certain turns?
4. Failure to pin the throttle coming off turns.

These are all track related, but improvement their=improvement on the street.

And hard braking...nothing sets off the old Code "Survival Reactions" than having to grab a big handful of front brake. But like the tense on bars thing it comes an dgoes with me. If I'm focused, doesn't strike. If I'm thinking of something else, holy shit it makes me panic!

BZ

 

Happened to me. Not keeping the bike in the proper power range for those immediate reaction needs. I was just tooling along enjoying the scenery and came into a left hand sweeper well below the speed limit and on an inside the lane track when up jumped a big ol pot hole that was right in the way. I felt I did not have the power to cut further inside my line to go left of the pot hole ( I was in 5th at 30 MPH) so I straightened up and went around to the right but lo and behold all of that winter wash (ya know, sand, etc) was all over the right edge of the road), so no turning or breaking there, either. All that was left was to find something soft.

 

Good:
- My eyes are up much more, looking ahead to the exit of a corner.
- I don't have a death-grip on the bars so much.
- I turn in later, getting a better apex and not needing to re-adjust mid-corner.
- All The Gear All The Time.
- I put my earplugs in for any ride longer than five minutes.

Bad:
- Speeding. I try to keep Nick Ienatsch's 'Pace' idea in mind, but I still find myself up in the three figures too often.
- Everything goes to hell when I'm trying to do slow-speed maneuvering. I look straight down and grab the bars.