Introduction to Group Riding

Riding with a group of friends appeals to many riders and is an activity that can enhance your motorcycling experience. However, riding with a group that has not developed any group guidelines can be a most unpleasant experience. Riding a motorcycle by nature is a solitary activity, but riding with others will bring some benefits, such as: someone to be aware of you if you have trouble, someone to help with routes, and someone to socialize with at stops.

• Establish guidelines for safety and cooperation

About the Author

General Group Riding Guidelines

Arrive at the starting point early and with a full tank of gas. Communicate your gas/mileage range with the ride coordinator so stops can be planned ahead of time. If you decide to leave the group, inform the ride coordinator at one of the stops.

The ride coordinator, or ride leader, should be experienced and have good vision, perceptual, and decision-making ability.

Each rider is responsible for the safe operating condition of his/her motorcycle. Carry appropriate riding gear for the conditions you expect to encounter and carry a first aid (trauma) kit and know how to use it. Ride within your limits, as a typical ride will be in remote areas without emergency services. Don’t allow peer pressure, pride, or stupidity push you beyond your comfort level. Expect to carry a map or a route sheet and know where the planned stops are if you need to fall back.

• Arrive early
• Have a full tank of gas
• Be certain your bike is in safe, reliable operating condition
• Know your mileage/fatigue limit
• Communicate your intentions
• Be prepared for any weather
• Be prepared for an emergency
• Ride your own ride

Planning Considerations for a Group Ride (Group Coordinator)

Get to know your group by having a pre-ride meeting and meeting individually with newer riders beforehand. Try to find out about other’s riding experience and expectations.

Types of motorcycles can sometime give the leader a clue about riding styles, but not always. High performance sport bikes tend to have riders who are looking for corners to carve, while cruisers and touring bikes riders may be out to enjoy the day. Dirt bike or dual-sport riders may enjoy everything and not mind riding on un-paved or rustic roads.

You may end up with a mix of riders and machines with a variety of experience and expectations (depending upon how you advertise your ride), or if someone brings a co-worker or roommate along. If you emphasize riding your own ride, and provide information about the route and planned stops, the groups will migrate to a variety of sub-groups based on friendship, speed, or mood. Stick with your planned route.

• Know who you’re riding with
• Make sure they ride THEIR own ride
• Hand out maps or route sheets

Positioning

Maintain the following formation for normal group riding. On narrow roads, curvy or mountainous roads, areas where visibility is limited, construction areas, loose surfaces, and when there is an obstacle in the roadway, ride single file.

It is inadvisable to ride side-by-side. Riding side-by-side looks cool on that old TV show, "CHiPs," but is not safe—it decreases your space cushion and reduces your possible paths of travel and escape routes if there is a hazard. Sharing a lane with another vehicle is illegal in Minnesota, unless the two motorcyclists agree to do so beforehand. 

When coming to a stop, consider lining up side-by-side to take up less room in traffic, and to proceed more efficiently: two at a time.

Adjust your lane position to deal with hazards and invasions of your space cushion. Use at least 2-second spacing when riding single file, such as in twisty sections. Above all, use common sense.

Remember that two seconds is a MINIMUM space cushion, and more room is needed at high speeds, in heavy traffic, in the rain, or at night.

• Allow as much space for yourself and others as you would riding alone
• Don’t follow any rider closer than the distance that rider is following the vehicle in front of them

Even if your group is large, break up into smaller groups of no more than 3-5 riders. Smaller groups are less likely to cause disruptions in traffic flow, and the spaces between the groups allow other vehicles to merge, exit, or pass safely. 

• Break up into small groups

Passing

Passing cars or other riders in the group is fine, as long as passing is done on the left, and adequate room is given the vehicle being passed. Each rider passing is responsible for making sure that they have enough room to pass. Although lead riders may pass aggressively to make sure they leave enough room for other riders to also pass, it is the responsibility of following riders to make sure they have enough room before pulling out to pass. If you are being crowded by a rider following you, move to the right and slow down, wave them forward, and let the following rider pass.

RIDERS PASSING ON THE RIGHT, WEAVING THROUGH GROUPS OF RIDERS, TAILGATING OR OTHERWISE RIDING IRRESPONSIBLY ARE NOT WELCOME ON GROUP RIDES.

• Pass only on the left
• Pass only when you are certain you have enough room
• Allow other riders to pass you
• Respect the space of others

Group Behavior

No drinking alcohol and riding. If the ride includes an overnight stay, responsible drinking is permitted after the motorcycles are parked for the night. If you are taking medications make sure someone in the group is aware of any special needs you may have.

• Alcohol and motorcycles are a stupid combination that impresses no one. Even one drink can seriously affect your judgment and timing. If you’re going to bar-hop, drink root beer. If you like drinking and riding, stay home. You’re not welcome.

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Introduction to Advanced Motorcycle Riding Strategies

Riding a motorcycle safely requires both physical and mental skills. You need physical skills to operate the bike smoothly and to perform evasive maneuvers like swerving and stopping. You need mental skills to safely interact with other traffic and to avoid hazards. But which is more important? How much of riding is physical, and how much is mental?

While the amounts vary depending on the bike, the rider, and the situation, experts believe that riding a motorcycle on the street is 90% mental and 10% physical. Beginning riders probably focus as much on the physical side as the mental side, maybe 50/50, while experienced riders probably focus almost entirely on the mental side: maybe 95/5!

Photo courtesy killboy.com

Mental Skills - Analogy

Once you’ve mastered the basic physical skills, you can afford to pay more attention to your surroundings. Your hands and feet know what to do, which frees your mind up for its most important job: detecting and avoiding hazards.

This Advanced Riding Strategies section of the MMSC Web page contains 44 pages of information meant to help you develop your own riding strategy, or to enhance and hone your current riding strategy. We hope that, after viewing this material, you will:

• Understand the importance of using a riding strategy.
• Understand the three parts of a riding strategy.
• Successfully use the riding strategy to increase your safety.
• Be particularly skilled at dealing with intersections, freeway traffic, and mountain riding.

The information given by the Minnesota Motorcycle Safety Center, its instructors, and volunteers, and is offered as a benefit for those with an interest in riding motorcycles. Our intention is to further discussion and enhance individual safety and skills. Although the MMSC will continue to research, field test, and publish viewpoints on the subject of motorcycle safety, it disclaims any liability for the views expressed. Every motorcyclist is responsible for his or her own safety and that of their passengers. We do not accept any duty or responsibility toward any individuals. We urge all those using the information and views presented on this site to use their own critical judgment. When you may have any doubt about a safety or skill issue, we urge you to seek clarification and information from sources you trust, and to proceed with caution to ensure your safety.

Advanced Riding Strategies Table of Contents

Mental Skills - Analogy

Foreword: A Note on Safety

Part I Riding Strategy: What Is It, and Why Use It?

Part II Components of a Riding Strategy

Part III Practical Application (Scenarios)

Part IV Special Situations: Intersections, Freeways, and Mountains

(Advanced Riding Strategies Page Map)

Flash your brake/tail light:

An easy way to make yourself more visible to traffic from the rear is to flash your taillight. Instead of just braking to slow or to stop, squeeze the brake lever several times to alert other drivers before you begin to slow. This will raise awareness of both your presence and your intentions and allow other drivers time to adjust.

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Effective Braking

By Darwin Holmstrom

The Fundamentals

Sometimes when you're teaching someone how ride a motorcycle it's easy to forget to teach him or her to stop one. It's easy to forget that stopping is as important as starting, and for the beginner, it can be nearly as difficult a skill to master.

Using the brakes on a bike is much more challenging than using the brakes on a car. A rider must use both hands and both feet at the same time to stop a motorcycle. In one motion, the rider must pull in the clutch lever with the left hand and squeeze the front brake lever with the right, while shifting down to first gear with the left foot and pressing down on the rear brake pedal with the right.

The front brake is the more important of the two brakes. An average motorcycle relies on the front brake for 70-to-80 percent of its stopping power. Bikes with long wheelbases and a more rearward weight distribution (like cruisers) rely more heavily on their rear brakes than bikes with shorter wheelbases (like sportbikes) but even on a cruiser, it is the front brake that does most of the work when stopping.

Contrary to persistent mythology, a motorcycle will not flip over accidentally if the rider uses the front brake. On modern sport bikes, it's possible to raise the rear wheel by applying the front brake--this stunt is called a "stoppie"--but to do this requires a good bit of skill and practice. It also beats the living daylights out of your motorcycle.

It's important to develop a feel for what your brakes are doing so that you can apply the appropriate force for a given situation. You don't want to squeeze the brake lever or press the brake pedal too hard, or you'll lock up your tires and skid. This is especially true of the rear tire, which locks up more easily than the front tire, especially on modern motorcycles, most of which are equipped with rear disc brakes. According to a report issued by the California Highway Patrol in the mid-1990s, a rider locking up his or her rear brake is a factor in the majority of all the crashes they investigated.

Locking up the brakes is Not a Good Thing. When your tire is sliding, it drastically reduces traction and braking efficiency while drastically increasing your odds of crashing. If your rear tire starts to skid, there's a good chance you'll either low side the bike (slide down on the road and crash), or high side the bike (start to slide one direction, then flip over in the other direction). A high side, the worst kind of single-vehicle crash you can have, happens when the rider releases the brake while skidding. This allows the tire to regain traction, jerking the motorcycle in the opposite direction.

The best technique to use for a skidding tire is to not skid the tire in the first place. If you do so accidentally:

• Rear-wheel skid: keep the rear wheel locked until you're completely stopped, keeping your eyes focused straight ahead and not at the ground. Exception: if you skid the rear wheel on a poor surface like gravel, it is possible to regain traction by gradually easing up on the rear brake pedal. The key there is gradually.)
• Front-wheel skid: release the front brake and then reapply it immediately, being careful to squeeze the front brake lever and not "grab" it.

Two Wheels Versus Four Wheels

Riding a two-wheeled vehicle involves all sorts of weird chassis dynamics, dynamics not experienced in a four-wheeled vehicle.

The relatively small amount of rubber in the contact patch of a motorcycle tire means a motorcycle has less traction available than a car. (For more information on this, please read about traction management in the Mountain/Canyon Riding Tips in Advanced Riding Strategies.) Plus, unlike cars, motorcycles lean when they turn. As your motorcycle leans, the available traction changes: this means you have less traction available in a turn. Anyone who has watched much motorcycle road racing has probably seen more than a few racers crash because they applied the brakes while leaning over in corners.

To further complicate matters, when you accelerate, decelerate, or brake, you upset the chassis of your motorcycle, causing it to move around. Not only does this distract you, it varies the amount of pressure on your tires, which in turn varies your available traction.

• Because of the physics involved with riding a motorcycle, you should get your braking done before you turn. Apply the brakes when the motorcycle is upright, before you lean over to turn. If you brake when you're leaned over, you're much more likely to skid than you are if you brake when the motorcycle is upright. Remember, when you're leaned over, you have less traction available.
• If you are going too fast and need to slow down in a corner, the best technique is to stand the bike up for a brief moment, brake hard in a straight line, then immediately lean back into the curve. If you do this for more than a split second, you will run off the road, which sort of defeats your purpose. Your best technique is to not enter the corner too hot in the first place.

Braking Practice

Locking up your brakes is a very dangerous situation. To help avoid it, practice stopping quickly in a parking lot or other area free of traffic and obstacles, being careful not to lock up the tires. While riding in a perfectly straight line, practice applying the brakes right up to the point of locking your tires. Make certain to give yourself plenty of room so you can decrease the brake pressure should you start to skid, yet still have enough space to safely stop. Remember, the point is to perfect your skills should an emergency situation arise, not create an emergency situation.

During this exercise you will most likely skid the tires, but if you are going perfectly straight and don't panic, it should prove harmless. And if you do panic and fall down, of course you will be wearing proper safety gear, so most likely you won't be seriously hurt. This practice will give you a sense of where the limits are in an emergency braking situation, allowing you to stop in the most effective manner.

Only after you are comfortable with your ability to feel what the tires are doing through the brake lever and brake pedal should you venture out on public roads.

Advanced Practice

Even after you master braking, you need to constantly practice emergency stops. Find a place with no traffic or obstacles and practice stopping as hard as you can. First practice stopping using just the front brake. At the slightest hint of the front tire locking up, release the front brake. Once you know the limits of your front brake and can instinctively apply them forcefully and quickly, begin adding a small amount of rear brake at the same time as you apply the front brake. Remember, the front brake does most of the work, and the rear brake locks the tire up much easier than the front, so you won't apply nearly as much pressure to the rear brake as you do to the front.

Tips

Cover Your Brake Levers

While riding in any kind of high-risk area (which describes most places you'll ride), always cover your front brake with at least a couple of fingers--that is, ride with at least two fingers resting on your front-brake lever. Also, make certain your foot is in position to use the rear-brake pedal. Having your hand and foot in position to stop will give you an extra fraction of a second to stop, which, if you haven't figured this out by now, can mean the difference between life and death.

Antilock Brake Systems

ABS stands for Antilock Brake System. ABS systems on motorcycles operate much like those on cars-sensors detect when a wheel is not turning, and release pressure to the brake on that wheel, preventing a skid. Under normal conditions, a rider can do this without ABS, but in an emergency, it's a good feature to have, and can save your life.

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