Let's Ride_ Sonny Barger's Guide to Motorcycling Part 6

If you have to finance your bike, you at least should be smart about it. The interest paid in finance charges can represent a good chunk of the overall money you'll ultimately pay for the bike, so you should arrange for the lowest interest rate you can find.

First talk to the loan officer at your own bank. (If you have a decent credit rating, you will have at least one bank with which you regularly do business. If you don't have a bank, your credit rating will be poor and you'll be at the mercy of whatever loan shark is willing to lend you the money to buy a motorcycle.) See what interest rates and monthly payments will be for loans spread out over different time periods. Usually loans are paid off over a period of time ranging from thirty-six to seventy-two months. The longer the loan period, the lower the monthly payments, but the interest rate usually goes up as the time it takes to repay a loan gets longer.

After you've determined the best rate you can get from your bank, call at least two other banks to see if they can beat your bank's rate. This way you'll find the best rate available, but don't expect a good rate. You'll probably be in for a shock when you hear the rates for financing motorcycles, which are almost always much higher than the rates for financing cars. The rates you end up paying will vary from company to company, state to state, and person to person, and will depend on variables such as the prime rate and the borrower's credit rating. If you can't afford to pay cash, your best bet is to try to get a special financing deal from a factory, but those can be few and far between in times of tight credit. In general, if you buy a bike, especially a used bike, expect to pay close to double the interest rate you would get if you financed a new car. If you are financing a new bike from a dealers.h.i.+p, you may be able to take advantage of special rates from the factory; but if you're financing a used bike, you'll just need to prepare to pay high interest rates.

In some cases those rates can approach the rates offered by your typical loan shark. Back when Harley sold more bikes than it built and had people paying $500 or more just to get on the waiting list to buy one of its motorcycles, the company's financial arm could charge whatever it wanted for interest. At one point the rate was as high as 21 percent. Just like the days of waiting lists to buy Harleys, the days of the Motor Company being able to charge outrageous interest rates are long gone now.

MOTORCYCLE INSURANCE.

THE COST OF INSURING a motorcycle can rival the cost of maintaining and repairing it. This is especially true of high-performance sport bikes, which are grossly overrepresented in accident claims. That doesn't necessarily mean they're more p.r.o.ne to accidents, though you'd think that would be the case, judging from young people we've all seen riding their crotch rockets like lunatics. But in reality, middle-aged men aboard cruisers and touring bikes statistically account for more fatalities than do young squids on sport bikes. ("Squid" is a derogatory term for young people who ride recklessly aboard crotch rockets. No one knows exactly where the term came from. One theory is that it's because when they crash, they leave a squidlike blood splatter on the pavement.) a motorcycle can rival the cost of maintaining and repairing it. This is especially true of high-performance sport bikes, which are grossly overrepresented in accident claims. That doesn't necessarily mean they're more p.r.o.ne to accidents, though you'd think that would be the case, judging from young people we've all seen riding their crotch rockets like lunatics. But in reality, middle-aged men aboard cruisers and touring bikes statistically account for more fatalities than do young squids on sport bikes. ("Squid" is a derogatory term for young people who ride recklessly aboard crotch rockets. No one knows exactly where the term came from. One theory is that it's because when they crash, they leave a squidlike blood splatter on the pavement.) Though sport bikes don't account for the majority of accidents, they are justly overrepresented in insurance claims. This is because they are covered top to bottom in expensive plastic bodywork that lacks the protective features of most touring bikes like my Vision. If my bike falls over, or if a Honda Gold Wing or ST1300 falls over while standing still or at extremely low speeds, the bike's built-in design features prevent much serious damage from occurring. If a sport bike like a Honda CBR1000RR, Yamaha R1, or Suzuki GSX-R falls over, even while standing still in a parking lot, there will be thousands of dollars worth of broken plastic on the pavement.

Most owners simply can't absorb the cost of fixing that and have to rely on insurance payments to pay for the repair of their bikes. Often they won't have a choice but to repair the bikes since so many of them are financed by banks, and banks will require the owner to obtain full-coverage insurance. This brings up another advantage of paying cash for a bike rather than financing it; if you pay cash for a bike, you can save money by just obtaining liability insurance. (Most states will require you to at least have liability insurance.) If you finance a bike, you will have to obtain full-coverage insurance, which is much more expensive.

That said, even if you can get by with just liability insurance, it might be a good idea to get full coverage to protect your investment if your bike is worth a significant amount of money. If the cost is too high, you can save some money by going with a policy with a higher deductible. If you go with a $1,000 deductible (the amount you pay up front before insurance kicks in) instead of a $300 deductible, you'll have to cover more of the cost of any repairs for damage caused in an accident out of your own pocket, but at least you'll be able to recoup the bulk of the cost of your bike if it's totaled.

Besides, the higher deductibles you would pay in the event of an accident might not cost you that much more than having the insurance pay for the repair, because if you ever do file a motorcycle claim, most insurance companies will jack your rates up so much that it will more than equal the cost of any small repairs in the long run. Unless your bike has major damage, it can often cost you less to repair it without help from the insurance company once you figure in higher insurance premiums.

If you finance a bike, you may have the option of obtaining what is called "gap" insurance. This will pay the difference between what an insurance company pays for the value of a bike should you total it out and the amount that you may owe.

Chances are if you finance a new bike, you'll be upside down on your loan for most of the term of the loan because new motorcycles depreciate so quickly in value. (Being upside down on a loan means that you owe more on the loan than the item you financed is worth.) This means that if you wreck the bike or if it gets stolen, you won't collect enough on the insurance to cover the loan, so in addition to losing your motorcycle, you'll have to cough up a bunch of money to pay the difference. Gap insurance will pay that difference. If you have to finance your bike, the bank or dealer's financial department will likely offer you gap insurance. It might be a good idea to take them up on that offer.

Expect to be shocked when you find out how much you'll pay every month for full-coverage motorcycle insurance. If you have any moving violations or accident claims on your record, you may have difficulty finding insurance at any price. If you have automobile insurance with a company that also offers motorcycle insurance, going with the same company will likely be your least expensive option. You may even get a multivehicle discount. Unfortunately the odds are good that your auto insurer won't even offer motorcycle insurance. Because of high claim rates (remember, motorcycles fall over a lot more often than do automobiles), a lot of companies don't even offer motorcycle insurance.

Rates will vary from company to company, but there are some guidelines you can use when seeking insurance. Sport bikes or sport-tourers with a lot of plastic bodywork will be more expensive to insure than touring bikes for the reasons described previously. In general, bigger bikes will be more expensive to insure than smaller bikes, at least within the same category. A big cruiser may be cheaper to insure than a small sport bike, but it will be more expensive than a smaller cruiser. And a small sport bike will cost more than a large touring bike, but it will cost less than insuring a big sport bike.

Where you live will also affect your insurance rates. Companies base their rates on crash and theft statistics in a given region. If you live in a neighborhood where a lot of motorcycle thefts have been reported, you will have higher insurance rates than if you lived in a suburb with low rates of motor vehicle theft. Sometimes the statistics are surprising-some so-called nice neighborhoods have high theft rates-but, in general, the farther you live from an inner city, the lower your insurance rates will be. If you live in a rural area, you'll most likely have the lowest rates of all.

BUYING A NEW MOTORCYCLE.

BUYING A NEW BIKE is in most ways much simpler than purchasing a used machine. You won't need to examine every component of a new bike because it won't have any wear and tear to examine. Likewise you won't need to look for evidence of abuse and improper maintenance, since you'll be first person to use (or abuse) and maintain the bike. is in most ways much simpler than purchasing a used machine. You won't need to examine every component of a new bike because it won't have any wear and tear to examine. Likewise you won't need to look for evidence of abuse and improper maintenance, since you'll be first person to use (or abuse) and maintain the bike.

Even though you'll spend more buying a new bike, there are some good reasons to go this route if you can afford it. You can never be sure that a used bike was properly cared for, regardless how thoroughly you inspect it. You'll be the person who controls how well maintained a new bike will be.

When you're shopping for a used bike, you'll look for the best available bike that suits your needs. When shopping for a new bike, you'll have your pick of any bike that falls into the price range you establish for yourself. Deciding which ones you want to look at is the fun part, because your research will consist of reading about each bike in motorcycle magazines and on motorcycle websites.

BEWARE OF "BETA TESTING" NEW BIKES ONE WORD OF ADVICE when picking out a new bike-be cautious when buying a newly introduced model. Sometimes manufacturers have an unwritten policy of beta testing; that is, the first few examples of a new bike might not have had all the bugs worked out of them in the development process, making the buyers an unwitting part of that process. Because of the pressure to meet production schedules, manufacturers sometimes push new models out the door before they're completely ready and then they work out any potential problems on the fly. when picking out a new bike-be cautious when buying a newly introduced model. Sometimes manufacturers have an unwritten policy of beta testing; that is, the first few examples of a new bike might not have had all the bugs worked out of them in the development process, making the buyers an unwitting part of that process. Because of the pressure to meet production schedules, manufacturers sometimes push new models out the door before they're completely ready and then they work out any potential problems on the fly.

Harley-Davidson is considered the worst offender in this respect. Longtime riders will tell you never to buy a first-year version of any Harley. This has probably been true since Harley and the Davidson brothers cobbled together their first prototype bike in 1903, but it has definitely been true since at least the introduction of the Knucklehead in 1936.

In 1936 recirculating oil systems were still relatively new. Instead of high-pressure pumps that circulated oil through the engine, earlier total-loss engines just had a hand pump that a rider would pump every so often to lubricate the engine. This oil would circulate around the engine and then either be burned or slosh out through one of the many areas on the engine where moving parts were exposed, most commonly through the valve train. Recirculating oiling systems were a huge step forward in engine reliability, but designers of early examples like Harley's 1936 Knucklehead didn't fully comprehend the need to contain the oil being circulated by the high-pressure oil pump, so they didn't fully enclose the valve gear. As a result, the very first Knuckleheads sprayed their riders with hot oil from the valve train. Harley quickly remedied this by designing tin cups that snapped over the exposed valve gear, but the problem wasn't really solved until Motor Company engineers redesigned the valve train so that it was completely enclosed.

This sort of problem-solving-on-the-fly approach has been a pattern with Harley ever since. The early Panheads had major problems with their hydraulic lifters, problems that weren't solved until the lifters were moved from the tops of the pushrods down into the crankcases. The first electric-start Electra Glides also suffered teething problems, as did the newly introduced Shovelheads, alternator-equipped Shovelheads, and the first bikes equipped with five-speed transmissions.

The first-year Evolution engines had so many problems that for years a lot of riders wore T-s.h.i.+rts that read: SEE SEE NO NO EVO. EVO. HEAR HEAR NO NO EVO. EVO. SPEAK SPEAK NO NO EVO. EVO. When the Evolution was later replaced with the Twin Cam 88, a mechanic friend of mine hurried up and bought one of the last Evolution-powered bikes because he knew the new TC88 engines would have problems. He was right. The TC88 engine came out in 1999. At the Sturgis rally in 2000 the sides of South Dakota roads were littered with TC88 engines that had suffered catastrophic failure of their camshaft bearings. When the Evolution was later replaced with the Twin Cam 88, a mechanic friend of mine hurried up and bought one of the last Evolution-powered bikes because he knew the new TC88 engines would have problems. He was right. The TC88 engine came out in 1999. At the Sturgis rally in 2000 the sides of South Dakota roads were littered with TC88 engines that had suffered catastrophic failure of their camshaft bearings.

Harley eventually worked out the bugs in all of these engines, but the pattern continues to this day. Even though the 96-cubic-inch Twin Cam engine was just an enlarged version of the TC88, early examples of that engine suffered from overheating problems. You should flat out avoid buying the first-year (and often even the second-year) examples of any new product from Harley-Davidson.

Just because Harley is the worst offender doesn't mean other companies don't follow the same practice. Even competent non-Italian manufacturers can be guilty of beta testing every now and then. Usually, new bikes from Germany and j.a.pan are good to go from the first day of production, but every now and then a motorcycle slips out of every factory before all the bugs are worked out.

FINDING A GOOD MOTORCYCLE SHOP.

ONCE YOU'VE DETERMINED WHICH bikes you want to look at, you'll need to find dealers.h.i.+ps that sell those brands. Just finding dealers.h.i.+ps used to be tough since up until a few years ago most motorcycle shops were little out-of-the-way holes in the ground. Historically motorcycle sales didn't generate the kind of cash flow that allowed dealers to open up high-profile shops in good retail locations. bikes you want to look at, you'll need to find dealers.h.i.+ps that sell those brands. Just finding dealers.h.i.+ps used to be tough since up until a few years ago most motorcycle shops were little out-of-the-way holes in the ground. Historically motorcycle sales didn't generate the kind of cash flow that allowed dealers to open up high-profile shops in good retail locations.

But that changed in the late 1990s and early 2000s, thanks in large part to the success of Harley-Davidson. A company that was almost bankrupt in early 1986, Harley-Davidson's fortunes dramatically changed in the late 1980s. The Motor Company's rags-to-riches story became the stuff of legend, and by the early 1990s Harley was one of the most successful companies in America.

In large part Harley's success was as much the result of its marketing clothing and accessories as it was the result of its motorcycle sales. And the company wasn't just selling exhaust pipes and T-s.h.i.+rts; by the early 1990s Harley shops sold just about any product you could imagine emblazoned with the company's famous bar-and-s.h.i.+eld logo, from toilet-seat covers to cigarettes.

Because retailing products other than motorcycles was such a big part of its business model, Harley forced its dealers to build new facilities on prime commercial real estate. These new Harley superstores were more like expensive boutique shops than the traditional motorcycle dealers.h.i.+ps that used to be found on the wrong side of the tracks, sandwiched between a sc.r.a.p-iron yard and a wh.o.r.ehouse.

By the early 1990s Harley dominated the American motorcycle market; where Harley led, the other manufacturers followed. By the mid-2000s just about every motorcycle dealers.h.i.+p had moved from its previous steel sheds hidden in industrial parks into big, fancy showrooms in high-buck retail areas. It used to be that you'd need a phone book and a good map to find a motorcycle shop in a strange city; today you can hardly miss them because they're right along the freeway, next to the Audi dealers.h.i.+ps and Cracker Barrel restaurants.

Although you won't have to track down motorcycle shops like we did in the old days, you will have to do a little research to see which shops are good and which should be avoided, because not all motorcycle shops are created equal. Each one is staffed by human beings, and the excellence of a shop is only as good as the quality of those individuals.

To determine the quality of the staff will require two things of you. The first is that you have some knowledge of the bike you're looking at, which you will have, since you followed my advice and did some research. Second, you have to use your knowledge of human nature. You need to have a feel for whether someone is telling you the truth or feeding you a line of bulls.h.i.+t. Developing that sort of intuition is beyond the scope of this book.

THE SERVICE DEPARTMENT.

A CRITICAL FACTOR IN CRITICAL FACTOR IN finding the right dealers.h.i.+p is the quality of a shop's service department. It really doesn't matter how straight a shooter a salesperson might be if the service department is staffed by morons. finding the right dealers.h.i.+p is the quality of a shop's service department. It really doesn't matter how straight a shooter a salesperson might be if the service department is staffed by morons.

For example, when I first saw Harley's then-new V-Rod, I was visiting a Harley shop while traveling out of state. I wasn't interested in buying the bike, but I was curious about its maintenance costs. I knew Porsche had designed the overhead-cam engine, and Porsche has a reputation for building engines that are idiotically expensive to maintain. I'd stopped at the Harley shop to get a part for my Road King and decided to ask the service manager how much it cost to do a major service on the V-Rod.

The guy told me that it would be the same as the cost of the major service of any other V-twin. To comprehend the sheer stupidity this man exhibited, you need to understand something about Harley's air-cooled V-twins and the V-Rod engine. The air-cooled V-twin, the engine that's found in every Harley except the various V-Rod models, uses the same basic overhead valve system the company has used since the 1936 Knucklehead, which has the cam (or cams) located down in the case moving pushrods that go up to the top end and open the valves. These pushrods have featured hydraulic lifters since before I started riding, which means that the valves never need to be adjusted.

The V-Rod uses overhead cams that don't have hydraulic lifters, meaning that like most high-performance motorcycles they need periodic valve adjustments. The valve adjustment is usually the most expensive part of a major tune-up. When the service manager said the cost for a V-Rod tune-up was the same as the tune-up for any other V-twin, I asked him if that meant they adjusted the valves on the V-Rod for free.

I don't know if I've ever seen a man look so befuddled. Here was a man so ignorant about motorcycle mechanics that he didn't even know he had to adjust the valves on Harley's new V-Rod (which, it turns out, is a ridiculously expensive process because the engine has to be dropped to gain access to the rear valves). And this fool was the shop's service manager. I wouldn't want anyone this ignorant checking the air pressure in my tires, much less supervising the people who might be rebuilding my engine.

I asked around, and it turns out that I'm not the only person who wasn't impressed with this shop and its service department. A lot of the local riders I spoke with refused to do business with the shop; instead, many of them drove an extra seventy miles to do business with a respected shop in a neighboring state.

If it's possible to meet with local motorcyclists, you can get a good idea from talking to them which shops are good and which should be avoided. You can also learn a bit about this by snooping around online and trying to find local motorcycle forums, but remember, like anything else you read on the Internet, take what you read with a grain of salt. Sometimes customers are to blame, but that doesn't stop them from unfairly lambasting a dealers.h.i.+p on the Internet.

Ultimately you have to make the decision as to where you're going to shop for a bike. Again, you need to have a pretty good knowledge of motorcycles to accurately gauge the competency of a shop and its service department. If you don't feel comfortable with your own knowledge base, try to enlist the help of a friend who knows something about motorcycles.

FINAL NEGOTIATIONS.

ONCE YOU'VE FOUND THE bike of your dreams from an independent seller or the right shop, one with a competent sales staff and a good service department, it's time to negotiate a price. You'll have less room to negotiate the price of a new bike than you will a used bike. As mentioned in the last chapter, dealers.h.i.+ps have to make some money on each bike they sell just to keep their doors open. That said, there's no reason why you have to foot the entire bill for their overhead. There has to be a little compromise on the parts of both you and the dealer. bike of your dreams from an independent seller or the right shop, one with a competent sales staff and a good service department, it's time to negotiate a price. You'll have less room to negotiate the price of a new bike than you will a used bike. As mentioned in the last chapter, dealers.h.i.+ps have to make some money on each bike they sell just to keep their doors open. That said, there's no reason why you have to foot the entire bill for their overhead. There has to be a little compromise on the parts of both you and the dealer.

Most dealers will do what they can to meet you halfway, but in recent decades that has not been the case with Harley dealers. For many years, selling Harleys consisted of sitting behind a desk, collecting $500 deposits, and putting names on a list. The dealers had little incentive to compromise with a buyer. Today the motorcycle market is very different, and Harley sales are down dramatically. Harley dealers have been slow to change their stubborn ways, but they will have to adapt to survive. Those dealers that are unwilling to compromise will become extinct.

Typically dealers add a base margin of 12 to 18 percent on new bikes. They often add extra charges on top of that, like freight and setup costs. They also make money from their finance department by talking you into things like extended warranties.

Your best tool for finding a dealers.h.i.+p with the lowest markup is still the old-fas.h.i.+oned telephone. You can find a lot of dealers.h.i.+ps advertising on the Internet, but they usually aren't listing the lowest prices they have available. More often they seem to be fis.h.i.+ng for buyers willing to pay a bit more. For example, a shop might list a bike at $11,000 on its webpage but if you call and talk to a salesperson, you might find that you can get a one- or two-year-old carry-over version of the exact same bike for $8,000.

Make certain you ask for an out-the-door price when shopping via phone. Make it clear that you want the salesperson to include all extra charges like freight and setup costs as well as the costs of license plates and sales tax. This way you're comparing apples to apples when talking to salespeople from different dealers.h.i.+ps; it also ensures you won't be surprised by additional costs when you go to buy the bike.

If you can't get a straight answer from a salesperson, you're best off avoiding that dealers.h.i.+p. If the person says something like "Come on down and we'll talk about it," he or she is trying to lure you into that dealers.h.i.+p. There are plenty of motorcycle shops out there; you don't need to deal with one that tries to trick you right from the start.

You'll be able to get somewhat of an idea about what dealers are paying for the wholesale price of a bike from the range of prices you find when calling around. You can figure that the lowest prices are marked up around 12 percent from the wholesale cost and the highest prices are marked up around 18 percent. Do the math and you'll have a rough idea of what the wholesale cost is.

You can negotiate from there, but chances are you'll have a hard time getting the price down much below the lowest price you find when shopping around. What you can do is use this information to negotiate the best price at the best dealers.h.i.+p you found while researching dealers.h.i.+ps. If the best price is available at a dealers.h.i.+p with a lousy service department or a bad reputation, you can try to negotiate the same price from a dealers.h.i.+p with a decent service department and a better reputation.

PULLING THE TRIGGER.

IF YOU'RE BUYING FROM a dealers.h.i.+p in your own state, the dealers.h.i.+p will take care of getting license plates for a bike and paying the sales tax. It will roll that cost into your out-the-door price. But if you're buying from an out-of-state dealers.h.i.+p or a private party, you'll need to take care of tax and licensing yourself. a dealers.h.i.+p in your own state, the dealers.h.i.+p will take care of getting license plates for a bike and paying the sales tax. It will roll that cost into your out-the-door price. But if you're buying from an out-of-state dealers.h.i.+p or a private party, you'll need to take care of tax and licensing yourself.

There are some ways to make this process simpler and safer. For example, it's a good idea to write up some sort of simple contract between you and the seller. This doesn't have to be a formal doc.u.ment drawn up by a lawyer. It just needs to be a doc.u.ment written in plain, easily understandable language that outlines the terms to which you and the buyer agree. Both you and the seller should have a signed copy of the agreement.

Before any money changes hands, you'll need to make sure you have all the paperwork you'll need when you go to your state department of motor vehicles for your license plates. You'll need a clear t.i.tle, and you'll need to make sure that the VIN (vehicle identification number) and engine numbers are correct and match the t.i.tle. If there's some discrepancy, you may find it impossible to get a license plate for your bike.

WHAT Y YOU S SHOULD K KNOW.

- Be prepared before going to buy a motorcycle-have your financing and insurance in order before you even go to look at a bike.

- Avoid financing if you can help it because it makes buying a motorcycle much more expensive.

- Make sure you can afford to insure a motorcycle before you buy it.

Photograph by Jinus.h.i.+ by Free&Easy Free&Easy magazine magazine

Chapter Six.

Advanced Riding Techniques Now that you've learned enough about motorcycles to decide what type you want, you've learned how to ride, and you've bought a motorcycle, I'm going to talk about the most important thing you can do while riding a motorcycle: staying alive. In this chapter we're going to discuss advanced training and riding techniques, including cornering, braking, and coping with other vehicles.

More than anything else in this book, the information that follows will help keep you alive. But as with the information in chapter 3, your best bet is still to get professional training. Once again, the Motorcycle Safety Foundation is a good place to start when looking for advanced training: in the late 1980s MSF developed its Experienced RiderCourse (ERC), a half-day course for newer riders and seasoned riders alike that's designed to hone bikers' riding skills as well as help develop the mental skills that will keep people alive out on the meat-grinding public highways. I took the ERC back when it first came out in the 1980s. I'd sent so many new riders to the basic RiderCourse that I thought I should take a course myself. I had nearly thirty years of experience when I took the ERC, and I still found it extremely helpful (even though I was the only rider in the entire cla.s.s who fell down).

If you want to take your riding skills to the next level, you might want to consider going to one of the many high-performance riding schools available. These usually are held at racetracks and use motorcycles provided by the school, though some, like Lee Parks's Total Control Advanced Riding Clinic, take place in large parking lots and require you to provide your own motorcycle. (See the appendix for more information about riding courses.) The fact that you're reading this book bodes well for your future survival as a motorcyclist. I'm trying to share a lifetime of experience with you, and I hope you'll find it useful, but I can't stress strongly enough the need to get proper training. Ideally you'll use the information in this section of the book in conjunction with what you learn in an advanced riding course.

SITUATIONAL AWARENESS.

AWARENESS OF YOUR SURROUNDINGS will usually be the critical factor that determines whether you live or die out on public roads. You need to be aware of what you are doing at all times, you need to be aware of what other people are doing, and you need to make other drivers aware of what you are doing. will usually be the critical factor that determines whether you live or die out on public roads. You need to be aware of what you are doing at all times, you need to be aware of what other people are doing, and you need to make other drivers aware of what you are doing.

Being aware of your own actions is the element over which you have the most control. An obvious way of doing that is to ride sober. Normally I don't care what people do. I figure it's their business. If they want to have a beer or three, I don't see a problem with that. Likewise I don't really care if they like to burn a marijuana cigarette now and then. h.e.l.l, I don't really care if they're drunk and high all the time, if they snort Drano or bang rat poison. It's their business, and it really doesn't matter whether or not I approve. Abuse yourself in whatever way you see fit, but when it comes time to ride a motorcycle, I highly recommend riding sober.

The Hurt Report found that alcohol was involved in nearly half of all motorcycle fatalities. That was thirty years ago, but the number has remained relatively stable. In 1998, 45 percent of motorcycle fatalities involved alcohol; in 2004, 48 percent involved alcohol. The problem is that alcohol and other drugs slow down your reaction time, and reaction time is everything when it comes to cras.h.i.+ng or not cras.h.i.+ng your motorcycle. When something happens-when that deer jumps out in front of you or that car swerves into your lane because the driver didn't see you-you have only a fraction of a second to react. If your reactions are an instant too slow because you have had even one beer, that could easily mean the difference between life and death.

Last year on the way home from Sturgis a couple of deer-a doe and a fawn-ran out in front of me. I was able to slow down just enough to miss the mother as she ran across the road, but not the fawn. Luckily for both of us the fawn didn't cross the road, but instead, ran alongside me before turning back into the forest. I was stone-cold sober and paying attention, and even then, I barely reacted fast enough to avoid hitting the larger deer. Had I drank even one beer, that might have slowed my reaction time just enough to cause me to hit the deer.

But other distractions can impair your reaction times almost as much as alcohol and other drugs. The main cause of distracted driving these days is the cell phone. If you're calling on your cell phone or, worse yet, texting while you're riding your motorcycle, well, you deserve to be killed, preferably sooner rather than later. That's all I have to say about that subject.

Still other distractions exist that are less obvious because they're inside your own head. When you ride, are you focusing on what you're doing and the potential hazards that are all around you, or are you thinking about giving your boss that beat down he's deserved for all these years? Are you thinking about the condition of your motorcycle, or are you thinking about the condition of your marriage? If you're concentrating on the fight you just had with your wife when you told her you were going for a motorcycle ride, you're probably not concentrating on that cell-phone-yakking half-wit in the SUV that's barreling down on you.

I lost a good friend this way. The guy was a skilled rider and extremely safety conscious-he was one of the first people I ever knew who wore a helmet. His motorcycle was always in tip-top condition, and he never rode when he was drunk or high. But one day he got in an argument with his girlfriend, took off on his bike, lost control in a corner, and hit an oak tree.

It's impossible to clear your mind of all distractions all the time-if we could, the makers of sleeping pills, Prozac, and other mental medications would be out of business-but before you head out on the road, you have to do everything you can to empty your mind of anything that will disrupt your focus on riding. Do whatever it takes to clear your head, including going to the bathroom. (You'd be surprised how much your concentration can suffer when you've got a full bladder.) Anger is another huge distraction, but it's hard not to get angry when you're sharing the road with the collection of simpletons known as other drivers. Anger clouds your judgment and slows your reaction time. You'll often have every reason in the world to be angry at other drivers, but you need to remain calm, cool, and collected in every situation, regardless of who is right and who is wrong. Above all, don't get into road-rage situations with other vehicles. They may be completely wrong, but they have your life in their hands. Right or wrong, you can't win an argument with someone who has the ability to end your life by simply turning his or her steering wheel.

Buddhist monks spend entire lifetimes trying to figure out how to clear these sorts of distractions from their minds. Maybe it works for them; maybe it doesn't. I don't know-I've spent my life doing other things. Like riding motorcycles. Since I don't expect to become a Buddhist monk anytime soon, I've had to find other ways to clear my mind when I'm on my bike.

One trick I've developed is to focus my attention on potential hazards. I study my surroundings and imagine what might go wrong. I look for brush or other growth along the road that might block my view of a deer or other critter that might run out in front of me. I watch other traffic, looking for other vehicles that might swerve into my lane, or trucks with loads that might come loose or tires that might blow out, sending debris onto the road.

I look for any element that might pose danger, then I check to see how prepared I am to deal with that danger. Have I placed my motorcycle in the best position to deal with potential hazards? Do I have enough room to maneuver out of the way of danger? (I'll talk more about lane positioning later.) Am I covering my front brake with my right fingers so that I don't lose a fraction of a second reaching for my brake if the situation goes south in a hurry? Is my engine in its powerband so that if I need to accelerate out of the way of danger, I won't twist my throttle only to have the engine bog down? Am I traveling at a safe speed in the first place?

In addition to a.s.sessing how prepared I am to deal with potential dangers, I devise plans of action in case something does go wrong. I look at the way a load on a truck is tied down to try to determine which way the debris is likely to fall if the ties come loose, then look for a clear, safe s.p.a.ce to move in the opposite direction of where the debris will likely fall. I try to determine possible paths of travel of even the most errant vehicle. I allow plenty of room between me and the vehicle in front of me, and I position my bike so that I have the best view of any potential danger. If I spot potential danger, I reposition my bike so that I have the least exposure to that threat and the best possible escape routes if the worst-case scenario comes to pa.s.s.

This exercise helps me prepare for potential danger, but it does more than that: it focuses my complete attention on that moment in time, so that I'm not thinking about anything other than riding my motorcycle in that place in time. It might not be the same as spending a lifetime in some Buddhist monastery, but the concentration required while riding a motorcycle is a form of focused meditation that makes all the petty distractions of day-to-day life melt away. It might seem morbid to concentrate on potential danger with such intense focus, but it clears my head. When I'm finished riding, I feel relaxed and recharged, so morbid or not, I consider it a beneficial activity. Some people ride with stereos blasting at top volume, but to me that would interrupt my meditation on the ride. The only sound track I need for that is the music my engine makes when it's running in peak condition.

DEFEATING ROAD HAZARDS.

THINK OF GOING OUT on public roads aboard a motorcycle as a form of going to war. As in any form of combat, the only way to win is to know your enemy. You can better understand the nature of the threats you'll face if you break down the types of hazards into three broad categories: on public roads aboard a motorcycle as a form of going to war. As in any form of combat, the only way to win is to know your enemy. You can better understand the nature of the threats you'll face if you break down the types of hazards into three broad categories: - Vehicles. These include everything from a fast-moving bicycle to a double-trailer semitruck. This category has the most potential to kill a motorcycle rider, so you should never trust any other vehicle. Obviously the bigger the vehicle, the more potential harm it can do to you; but when you're on a bike, you are so vulnerable that even an errant bicycle rider can potentially take you out. Learn to identify the vehicles that are most likely to kill you, and when you're riding among them, always look for possible escape routes should things start to go wrong. These include everything from a fast-moving bicycle to a double-trailer semitruck. This category has the most potential to kill a motorcycle rider, so you should never trust any other vehicle. Obviously the bigger the vehicle, the more potential harm it can do to you; but when you're on a bike, you are so vulnerable that even an errant bicycle rider can potentially take you out. Learn to identify the vehicles that are most likely to kill you, and when you're riding among them, always look for possible escape routes should things start to go wrong.

- Debris and potholes. This category includes any stationary object that can lead to your losing control of your motorcycle if you hit it. This could be the road alligators from one of the thousands of blown truck tires that you'll be dodging as long as you ride motorcycles, or it could be a sign post at the edge of the road, or a box of bolts that fell off a flatbed truck. You'll need to perfect your control over your motorcycle to develop the riding skills that will help you avoid hitting this type of hazard. This category includes any stationary object that can lead to your losing control of your motorcycle if you hit it. This could be the road alligators from one of the thousands of blown truck tires that you'll be dodging as long as you ride motorcycles, or it could be a sign post at the edge of the road, or a box of bolts that fell off a flatbed truck. You'll need to perfect your control over your motorcycle to develop the riding skills that will help you avoid hitting this type of hazard.

- People and other animals. People and other animals move slower than vehicles, but they can be almost as deadly-and even more erratic. They can change direction quickly, and they don't follow normal patterns of movement, as vehicular traffic does. When you're moving down the road on your motorcycle, you'll often ride in conditions that make it difficult to see animals and pedestrians until they pop out right in front of you, so you'll need to learn to recognize the situations in which two- or four-legged critters are likely to appear. People and other animals move slower than vehicles, but they can be almost as deadly-and even more erratic. They can change direction quickly, and they don't follow normal patterns of movement, as vehicular traffic does. When you're moving down the road on your motorcycle, you'll often ride in conditions that make it difficult to see animals and pedestrians until they pop out right in front of you, so you'll need to learn to recognize the situations in which two- or four-legged critters are likely to appear.

When riding on public highways, I recommend adopting the att.i.tude that every single person on the road is a sociopathic serial killer who has just escaped from an asylum for the criminally insane. This might seem a little pessimistic, but you'll live longer if you a.s.sume everyone else on the road is a homicidal moron whose sole purpose is to kill you.

Face it: an unsettlingly high percentage of American drivers are unfit to be behind the wheel in the best of circ.u.mstances. What else would you expect in a country where the hardest part of the driving test is parallel parking? Parking is the opposite of driving, so there's not a h.e.l.l of a lot of actual driving involved in getting a driver's license. Technically it should be called a parking license, but it's not, and the end result is a nation of people who think of the driver's seat as a place to make phone calls and send text messages while they are going somewhere else. There's not much you can depend on anymore, but you can be virtually certain that someone is going to do something incredibly stupid out on the road. The best way to deal with the situation is to make certain that person is not you.

You need to have complete awareness of every single one of the idiots with whom you're sharing the road while you are out on your bike. You need to learn to read traffic and learn to recognize the clues that will alert you to potentially dangerous situations. You need to develop a feel for the circ.u.mstances in which other drivers are likely to do something stupid.

For example, when you are on a multilane road, pulling up to an intersection alongside a line of cars, you can be sure that at least one of them is going to pull out into your lane to get around that line, and you can be just as sure that the person will not have checked his or her mirror or looked over his or her shoulder to clear the lane, so he or she has no idea you are there. Or when you're riding along a row of parked cars, expect at least one of them to pull out in front of you or even beside you.

When you're riding alongside slow-moving or parked traffic, always position your bike as far away from the line of cars as possible to give yourself room to react when the car inevitably pulls out right in front of you. Constantly scan for safe s.p.a.ce in which you can swerve around the d.a.m.ned fool. Monitor your rearview mirror to make certain no one will run you over if the only safe course of action is to brake hard. Create circ.u.mstances in which you have the most possible options in the event of any dangerous situation.

Don't ever believe anyone's turn signals. The person may be driving down the road totally oblivious to the fact that his or her turn signal is flas.h.i.+ng. If he or she does plan to change lanes, he or she is more likely to not use the signals at all. The person changing lanes without signaling a lane change will probably be the life-threatening situation you encounter most often. It will happen with such frequency that you'll soon be surprised when someone does signal a lane change and doesn't pull into your lane while you are occupying it.

To prevent this you need to be completely aware of what everyone on the road is doing at all times. The best way to determine if a person is about to change lanes isn't to watch his or her turn signal; it's to watch his or her front tires. Before a car can change direction, its front tires have to turn. Where the front tires turn, the car will follow. If you see the tires turn toward your spot on the road, you have an extra split second to react, find a safe s.p.a.ce, and move out of harm's way.

Watching the front tires of cars is especially useful for alerting you when oncoming cars are about to make a left turn across your lane. This is an exceptionally dangerous situation. Unfortunately it's also a common occurrence-I've been almost taken out by oncoming cars making unsignaled left turns in front of me more than all other near misses combined. To be fair to other drivers, motorcycles are hard to see in the best conditions; when they are coming right at you, they don't present a very large profile and are even easier to miss. Factor in the 50 percent chance that the oncoming driver is distracted because his main squeeze is "s.e.xting" him, and for all practical purposes you're invisible.

Because of this you'll likely have someone making a turn across your lane of traffic on a weekly basis. Sometimes it will be on a daily basis. And it won't always happen at obvious intersections. Often the person will be turning into a driveway or a parking lot that you might not have seen. The other driver may even be making a U-turn. I lost a friend in December 2009 because a van made an unsignaled U-turn and pulled out just as he was pa.s.sing by. And this man was as experienced a rider as I've ever known.

You can't prevent this situation, but you can prepare for it, and, as I've mentioned, one of the best ways to do that is to watch the front tires of other vehicles. If a car is coming at you, watch its left front tire. Position yourself so that you're as far away from the vehicle as possible, and ride in a place that will leave you room to get out of the way should you see the other vehicle's left wheel start to turn in your direction.

Watching the front tires of other vehicles won't make you invincible, but it will give you extra time to react to danger. If you are paying attention and notice the instant someone turns a front tire toward your lane, you'll have an extra fraction of a second to react, and that fraction of a second could save your life. But this only helps if you're aware of your surroundings. To be effective, your reaction will have to take into account every other numb-nuts driver on the road. You won't be gaining much if you swerve to miss a car moving into your lane from the right and accidentally hit the car in the lane to your left.

You'll also have to be aware of all the nonvehicular hazards. For example, when you're riding along a line of parked cars, it's just as likely that a dog or a child will run out from between the parked cars as it is that one of the parked cars will pull out in front of you. There's no way to predict the behavior of an animal or a child; the best you can do is try to identify places where an animal or a child might possibly emerge onto a road. Be aware of your surroundings, cover your front brake lever, and be prepared to make an emergency stop the instant you see something moving into your path of travel.

Sometimes the nonmoving hazards can be as deadly as the moving ones. You need to be aware of road conditions that could lead to a loss of traction, like rain, dirt, leaves, railroad tracks, potholes, oil, antifreeze, ice, and sand or gravel buildup. Debris is especially dangerous when you encounter it in a curve. It tends to build up on the outside edge of a curve, so you need to give this area extra attention when you are scanning the road in a corner.

If there is debris in a corner, slow down to give yourself time to maneuver around it. If it takes you by surprise and there isn't enough time to avoid it, don't panic and hit the brakes. This will upset your cha.s.sis and increase the chances that you'll lose traction and crash. Instead, maintain a steady speed through the corner. If you've slowed down to a safe speed before entering the corner, you should be all right. If you are going too fast and need to slow down in a corner, stand the bike up for a brief moment, brake, then immediately countersteer back into the corner. If you react quickly, you should be able to maintain control of your motorcycle, but if you stand the bike up and brake for more than a split second, there's a good chance you'll run off the road.