Hey all, On my 19th birthday my father and I went and got our motorcycle licenses together. We always joked about it, but figured hey why not? So we went for it and took the riders course. So far I absolutely love riding. We split the cost a used 883 and its been absolutely great. I'm about to take my first semi-long ride (about 2 hours) down the cape in a few. I've been fine around town and whatnot but this ride will be about 90% highway. The highway has not been an issue as of yet, but I'm just curious do you guys have any tips for me? What to do's/what not to do on the highway? Any help would be great thanks!

 

Take it slow until ya learn the bike. Don't rely on mirrors.....and ride like everyone is a threat. Ride safe. cheers.

 

IMO the high speed stuff is the easy part.
It's all the slow tight radius stuff that takes practice.

Having said that $eventy2T is right on.


1) Ride YOUR ride at YOUR comfort level.
Don't push yourself to the left lane if you're more relaxed in the right.

2) Assume NO ONE sees you.

3) Assume your mirrors are lying.

 

Avoid lane splitting if at all possible, especially if you are a novice.

John

 

you will be fine take it easy
bike will do good at highway speeds
drink water
and also we demand pictures...........lol
enjoy the open road

i just throw picture out there for a laugh

 

just for ratrod hog...

 

thanks for the tips also!

 

I ride to work and do about 40 minutes each way on the highway (65mph speed limit). The first couple times, it seems you are going a lot faster than you are... you'll get used to it quick.

Double check any bags or anything with straps. Double check any strings or anything you might have on your clothes or jacket, the last thing you want is a string with a knot on the end whipping you in the back of the head.

Don't follow too close to anyone, you might miss some debris in the road and not have a chance to get out of the way. I see everything from shredded up tires to sheets of plywood on the highway, regularly. Plus, people throw out garbage, cigaratte butts, etc. out their windows.

Depending on how comfortable you are, I usually try to keep a good 5-10mph clip above the speed limit to keep up with, and slowly pass most traffic. You don't want people passing you constantly. When I see a semi or other large truck, I speed up a bit and get around them as quickly as possible to get out of their wind, they kick up a lot of gravel and dust too.

Pay extra attention to anyone with a trailer or boat, stuff flies off of those all the time. Also watch out for those Uhaul or Budget rental trucks, a lot of times the people driving them rented it and are driving a truck for the first time, they can be all over the road.

 

And garbage trucks smell unholy close up so give them a wide berth.

 

Earplugs help with fatigue on long trips.