Safety is paramount when taking to the roads in any vehicle. Motorbikes are notorious for being the most dangerous vehicle on the roads. But with fatalities on a steady decline since 2008, riders are more aware now than ever of the potential hazards and how best to avoid them.
Here we’ve broken down the top ways that riders can avoid accidents. By taking these points into account before every ride, you will have a better understanding of the roads and how to avoid common incidents.
Collisions at junctions
Again, motorbikers put themselves in danger when travelling through junctions, particularly T-junctions. Many other drivers can fail to see a biker in these instances. However, frequent accidents at junctions are often the fault of a car driver, rather than a biker. It has been revealed that many car drivers can find it difficult to judge to speed that a bike is travelling at and this can be a contributing factor.
However, it is the responsibility of the biker to make sure that they are as visible as possible, even brightly coloured clothing and helmets can come in handy here. You could decide to think about how you would handle a car pulling out on you unexpectedly. Unfortunately, this can happen and lead to accidents more often than not.
Corners on country roads
Many bikers will have learned how to ride in towns and cities. So when heading out on a windy country road, it is important to be wary that left-hand bends can be particularly treacherous.
The problem with these bends is that you don’t know exactly what they are going to be like until you ride through them. Road signs will help to a certain extent, but knowing how your bike will cope on a bend can be new each time. Problems can arise when a biker may cross over the centre line in the road to navigate through a corner. Obviously, if an oncoming vehicle is heading round at the same time this can cause major accidents.
Bends and corners can open up once you head into them, others can be quite tight and difficult to safely drive through as a biker. You need to be able to read the road and notice which tactic is best to take when tackling a corner. Being aware of different roads and road conditions are all important elements that will make you a better, more experienced and ultimately a safer rider.
Overtaking
When overtaking on a motorbike, as a rider you need to know the power of your bike and what it is capable of doing. This is pretty basic driving stuff, with most of it applying to car drivers too. However, most of the time a motorbike can overtake much faster than a car, but it is still important to be extra-vigilant in your overtaking and only to do this when it is safe. You should never overtake on a blind bend, at a junction or on hills.
Filtering
The manouver of filtering is when a biker moves through queues of slow-moving or stationary traffic. This method of riding is completely legal, and you will often see motorbikes and cyclists moving through traffic in this way. Sometimes people may refer to this as lane splitting.
It is important to keep your speed low when filtering, we would advise that anything over 15-20mph could be a dangerous speed to do this at. You need to make sure that as a biker you are seen by other vehicles. If you are filtering at a high speed then other cars may not see you and this is precisely how accidents occur.
Loss of control
Losing control of a bike can be a scary thought. Plus, as many of these points that we have highlighted show, these issues can arise and are often not the bikers fault. Many problems with the roads for bikers can come from badly surfaced roads or damage. Potholes can often be difficult to spot on a bike when travelling at high speed. Equally, diesel spillages are extremely slippery and can send a biker travelling off course, ending up with them losing control of their vehicle.
Accidents with other drivers can cause a rider to lose control of a bike, for example, if a rider has been shunted from behind. You can help to avoid this by leaving plenty of room between the vehicle in front of you. It is always important to take pictures of any accident that you have, this includes the state of the road that you were travelling on, especially if it is the condition of the road that has caused or contributed to your crash.
There is plenty more that can be done to avoid accidents, and the best way to protect yourself is to arm yourself with as much knowledge as possible. If you’re looking for bike finance, see if we can help you here.
How best to store your motorbike over winter
As the winter months close in, you may find yourself using your motorbike less and less.
Most bikers like to put their vehicle away during the colder, icier and more dangerous months of the year. The roads can be particularly treacherous across these last few months, especially for bikers.
You might be the type of biker who likes to try to get out whenever you can. There will usually be a time that you do decide to put the bike away. Even though we know you don’t want to!
We understand that some riders like to continue biking all year round. However, if you want to play it safe and put the bike away for winter, there are a few things you will need to do…
Go For a Ride
Yes, we mean it – really! Not only to enjoy one last ride before you put the bike away for its winter hibernation, but this will also give the bike a good run out. Allowing you to check everything is in working order. Letting the bike to run before having time off the roads too. We recommend going for a long ride out, anything from half an hour or longer.
Clean Your Motorbike
Next, before putting your bike away we would recommend giving it a good clean. This will make sure that all traces of dirt and dampness have been removed. Helping to minimise any part of the bike decaying whilst not in use. Use any old material you may have to block the bike exhaust and any other areas of the bike that have holes in. Blocking these holes whilst the bike is not in use will stop any damp air from getting inside of the bike and causing hidden damage.
Protect the Battery
You may want to choose to disconnect your battery whilst storing your bike away. However, this can be an issue if you have an alarm fitted. Alternatively, you may want to fit a battery conditioner to your bike which will help to keep the battery in tip-top condition. Poor weather can damage the battery. It’s important to make sure that you have protected the battery, so you don’t fall into the trap of purchasing a new battery every year.
Change Liquids
You can either completely change or top up your bike’s fluids before putting the bike away. Many bikers do change all liquids before storing, but some choose to top up the fluids to prevent evaporation. We would recommend completely changing all liquids in your bike. You can also opt to simply top up and use oil to help to stop rusting too.
Prep Tyres
To make sure that your tyres survive the winter and a few months of rest, you need to make sure you prep them correctly. You can do this by inflating them to the correct tyre pressure. Check your tyre pressure with a good quality pressure gauge. Cheaper pressure gauges can be quite off, they may even give you an incorrect reading which is unhelpful and could potentially be dangerous. It is also a good idea to rotate the tyres every few weeks to stop tyre damage.
Store Indoors
Make sure wherever you choose to store your bike is dry. This is important so that condensation doesn’t start to form which can then in turn trigger corrosion of your bike. Covering your bike with a non-plastic material that will allow air to circulate is also a good idea, to keep the dust and dirt away. We recommend storing the bike with both wheels off the ground if at all possible. This will help the tyres to stay in good condition and stop them from going down or falling out of shape.
Then you are prepped to get the motorbike out and on to the roads in Spring, ready to go!
To get a free personalised quote for a motorbike today, visit motorly:finance
