Motorcycle Tips and Safe Riding Practices

There's no such thing as perfecting the art of motorcycle riding. Even the most experienced riders always have room for improvement, and that's probably the best part about motorcycles. You can always learn how to get more performance out of your bike, increase the intensity, and learn new tricks, which means that riding will become a better experience for you year after year. You can improve your skills by focusing on the individual aspects of riding, so this guide lays a few of those out for you. You'll learn something whether you're brand new or have years of practice on two wheels. If you ever want more tips, or just need to check out our motorcycle models, come on into Durango Harley-Davidson® in Durango, CO. We sell a wide array of Harley®'s, including Heritage®, Softail Classic®, Softail Slim®, Fat Boy®, and Breakout™.

Braking

Before you try tough cornering and let your inner speed-demon loose, you'll have to master braking first. It's pretty simple, but stopping smoothly and effectively can be tricky if you've never stepped on a bike before. Since you only have two wheels, the majority of your stopping power comes from the front tire. You need to always use both front and rear brakes, but rely on the front tire heavily for those sudden stops and in more agile braking situations. Even after you've mastered this, you can always spend more time practicing to figure out exactly how long it takes your bike to come to a complete stop, and how you can use your brakes to navigate tough roads better.

Passing

You probably cherish the fact that models like Heritage, Softail Classic® and Slim®, Fat Boy®, and Breakout can accelerate so quickly past other cars. It's easy to get up to speed to pass a slow driver ahead, but since you don't ride on the left side of your lane constantly, you'll need to take precautions every time you pass. On a straight stretch, ride over to the left of the lane for a moment to make sure no cars are coming, then merge over and overtake the car ahead. If there's a legal passing zone, you can overtake coming out of a corner too, but this practice is trickier. When taking the corner, ride to the outside of the lane so you get a good vantage of oncoming traffic. If it's clear, you can pass right after exiting the corner. Never take risks when passing, because head-on collisions are devastating accidents for everybody.

Awareness

Drivers don't see motorcycles as well as they can see other cars, so you'll have to drive more defensively than everyone else when riding. Keep your head on a swivel at intersections, where cars might unexpectedly pull ahead of you out of turn, and on the highway, where merging traffic might cut you off. It's unfortunate that not everybody pays better attention, but since your Harley-Davidson® doesn't offer as much protection as a car, you'll have to ride with heightened awareness in order to avoid an accident.

Shifting Gears

The last aspect we'll mention that's important for driving like a pro is shifting gears. Smoothly upshifting and downshifting makes riding safer, and also demonstrates your proficiency on a bike. It's pretty easy to figure out how to use the clutch and shift, but the tricky part is getting familiar with that sweet spot between gears. Every bike is different, so practice finding the place above and below a gear where you can upshift or downshift without creating a jerky motion. There's always room for improvement in this category, so you can constantly work to be better at shifting.

Maintenance

With these tips in mind, you should be able to get a better feel for riding, and you can continually improve your abilities no matter how long you've had a motorcycle. But another key aspect to safety and performance is maintenance. You should regularly inspect every component on your motorcycle, including the brakes, tires, engine, and transmission. If you notice any problems with these parts, bring it on into our service department at Durango Harley-Davidson® for some maintenance. Or if you simply need a new bike, feel free to come check out our new Harley-Davidson® motorcycles. We've got models like Heritage, Softail Classic®, Softail Slim®, Fat Boy®, and Breakout at our dealership in Durango, CO.