Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
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HOW TO STAY AIM ( I f ' . CYCLE SEATS ... - ~ z FREEWAY + Full Line of Dirt Bike ACCetIOri... Tonten Hallman - Preston Petty _ Trellborg Tir.. - Carrara Goggl... Aluminum MX B.rs $19.95 CYCLE SEATS 8828 Whittier Blvd. Pico Rivera, Calif. (213) 695-9042 W ...J o >o Collins & Sons '265 E. Lincoln An.hei..... (714) 53~-SOOO 714/870-5243 Motorcycle Corporation 172 Freedom Avenue Anaheim. California 92801 Though you can easily outstop the car in front of you, it's not too clever to follQw a car closely. The freeway is constan dy strewn with miscellaneous objects waiting to put you down. A car can easily Itraddle them. You won't lee them in time to avoid. This goel double for trucks or vans' that obscure your vision. You need to know what'l going to happen a long way before you get there. Lots of people worry about what is going on in front of tbem. but many less worry about their flanks and rears. Because of that aforementioned hugging habit of car drivers, I watch in my mirror and if anyone gets too close. I leave. Also, on a motorcycle, you are in nearly as mucb jeopardy from the sides as the rear. Even if you're riding with your headlight on (and you definitely sbould be) people won't notice you five reet away. Solution: don't cruise next to cars. move away from them. I;-astly and definitely not leastly, stay upnght. One of the worst things that can happen to you is 'laying it down.' The one thought that causes more fear in -my little bcart than any other is that of being run over. I get paranoid kick my tires. and abuse dogs that use 'those !-ires for purposes other than they werc Intended. Keep good tires. with lots of tread on your bike. Don't use patched "'~------~1 I I I 1st. Annual Spring Sale Y.m.h. Helmets Reg. 130.25 Now 126.25 Buco Tie Downs Reg. 18.95 Now 16.95 Leathers Reg. 154.95 Now 149.95 Do as I laY and not .. I do. Yonder road liurd is gonne _ it bad if tile dude in the German fl,,",,-car decides to light hil _1IIIr. There'1 lIOnne be traffic ciution forms ICatterad from the Long Beech to the Heobor '-VI. Anv-v. it'l against thelew. ~ . Mcfadden.t the Newpon foy YAMAHAlHUSQVARNA ------------- .... Sa~· Service· Parts· AcceSSOfteS ,,2100E.IlkFaddtn,SlItt.ABa. (7le} !iSS-lSI I , Bullaco "IT'FITS" ~I~ ~ SALES SEPVICE Weldil1!r Portil'lll Accessories ---' BAYAREA BtJLTACO * Inc. lJ52 Cenllnela. W. los Angeles COrll~r "41C:L.. .~ * of Santa Monica Btvd. 81 Centtnela open NOON to apm MonClalY 9 to 6 Tues thru ~t ..,S.ar:::n.::t.:....:::M:::o~N:::·c::."Il:::I:,:v~d:l- N;.:: ~ + ~ W i ~nt.a E S Monica F'rwy. 213 826- 7856 5 ~ by Dave Schoonmaker You may never conlider riding a motorcycle on the freeway. That's your option, and it might be a very sane one. ~ is not a recommendation to go for a nde on the freeway; that would bear a heavy load of responsibility. Freeway riding need not be as dangerous as mOlt people seem to think it is, but there is no doubt that it is somewhat leiS conducive to your health and well being than say. eating lalads with Roquefort dressing. If you are inclined to go for a ride on the freeway. then possibly a few recollections by someone who has li~ed through it. so far. migh t be of assistance. If you're curious why I ride on the freeway. here's a set of reasons: I: it is thirty miles to work and I'm not very excited about cars. 2: motorcycles are cheaper to operate than cars 3: there's a vague perverted sense of macho to riding on the freeway. 4: I try not to think about death much. about the people we are interacting with (in this case car driven). One good way to view au tomobile drivers is as oblivious. Experience has proven that a four-whecler pilot can look a biker straight in the eye and run over him. I have enough faith in mankind to believe that this is not a conscious decision. I'll choose to believe that they are just supremely oblivious. What all this boils down to is that all the responsibility for your life is on your shoulders. Never. ever count on anyone on the freeway to do anything to save your life. Always have at least one way out. There are a multitude of ways to escape from situations. and a reasonable way to spend some of your time on tbe freeway is to research them. Riding safely on the freeway will be a combination of avoiding situations where you will necd a way out and getting out upon that rare occurrence. A STATE OF MIND AVOIDING SITUATIONS Though it may not be true of all people. I need a mental preparation to approach this sort of thing - a state of' mind. Through a combination of personal factors and a measure of rational thought. I have come to subscribe to the aggressive freeway riding technique. No, I don't Iplii lanes at 75 MPH, or do wheelies in the fast lane. I do ride at least as fast as the traffic. This has two beneficial functions; it keeps me at a high level of attention and it also covers my rean to a certain extent (by leaving them behind). One of the worst things that can happen to you on the freeway is having time to think about what'l for dinner or whether the phone bill will come today. Biltin' on the freeway requires a constant high level of attention. Any time that my mind starts to wander. I try to move around a little more, not necessarily play musical lane changes but approach it. Surprisingly. one of the easy times to ride on the freeway is when there is a moderate amount of traffic. Then there is lots of compe ti tion. That's tbe way I think of automobiles - competition. Becoming emotional about automobile driven is a frivoli tv in freeway riding. as it is in racing. There are far more importan t things to attend to. Naturally, we tend to make some personality judgment Avoiding nasty altercations means avoiding cars firstly and avoi~g boredom secondly. To start with, if you ride in either the far.Jeft or the far right lane. you haVe only one exposed flank. You also have an escape path in the shoulders. Obviously. the righ t lane forces you to contend with on and off-ramp traffic. A generalization might also be that right lane dwcllers are somewhat more squirrelly. Riding in the right lane forces you to either ride slowly or to' commi t serious lane roulette. The far left lane trades off one set of hassles for another. Things are pretty good until traffic backs up. In stop and go traffic left lane dwellers seem to be generally convinced that they are being unfairly deprived of their God given righ t of speed. Tbe spot your two wheels are resting on will be in much greater jeopardy. Most left laners don't f~el that a motorcycle requires anywhere near the same 'safe-assured distance.' Five feet is plenty enough. Anotber left lane problem is oncoming traffic. Ever notice all the holes in the fence? Ulp! It isn't a frequent occurrence but when it does bappen._ In the end it comes down to whether you want to move quickly or slowly. I ride the left lane because it gets me off the freeway more quickly. thereby preserving my sanity and safety. .. Most Powerful ... .. MAleC .. COOPER MOTORS . ... .. ......... , , . ........-....... .... tubes. Keep the chain adjusted. lubed. and so on. A blown tire or a patched ·tube is an express ticket to oblivion. I can't go for the 'lay it down and live' theory. I think it was developed by people who crash a lot. Thc trajectory control available through one's blue jeans bas and will be minimal. Besides that, I don't know anyone (there are people) who can lay down a bike intentionally on asphalt. On the freeway you best try to ride it out. Think about that just occasionally and you'll keep both ends of the bars firmly grasped most of the time. GETTING OUT You're not going to have time to think over the rational possibilities for a course of action enabling you to avoid being stomped by a 20 ton truck that's moving your way. Most of your thin king h as to be done in advance. You've got an escape bere if so and so does this, an escape there if the other so and so does that. When the time comes you've got to be ready. The shoulder is always bettcr than between two cars. But. be looking for people doing the same thing you are. If someone nails their brakes in front of you, it's a good idea to start looking for the shoulder. That way, you won't get sandwiched. While you're doing it. watch for other people wbo might do the same thing in front of or behind you. If someone starts to usurp your positio.n from the sidc, try to get away. If you're sandwiched, honk, rev your engine. or pound on his hood. One or the other should have the desired affect. H you own a bike that likes to shake its head on rain grooves, you might improve it by cbanging front tires (ribs seem to shake) and by taking off large air foils, such as sissy bars, saddlebags. ape hangers, and some times even fairings. When your bike does start to shake it may require either gentle acceleration or gentle deceleration, but it will probably not like hard braking. Don't nail the brakes. Gentle rear brake may help. I f you keep your mind and your bike in good sbape, your chances on the freeway arc improved many, many fold. Now, you've probably been waiting ~,hroughout this article for me to say, Wear a helme t" I'm not going to say that, I'm going to say. "ALWA YS wear a helmet." CD III :z: West 01 Mississippi ~ 2: 110 E. Sanu Anita A.e. .... bank. Ca. 9lS02 -: , -. ~ (714) 894-2623 PENTON S.tes - s .....ce - P3rtl - Acceuorlel D & R Cycles 7181 Westminster Ave. Westminster, C.lif. 92683