Advanced Riding Rules and Tips Counter Steering If you push the left bar, the bike goes left. If you push the right bar, the bike goes right. That is, unless you keep pushing the right bar all the way, then you will probably go left while the bike swaps ends. Crashing Remember riding isn't inherently dangerous... crashing is. The Sidelines It's always better to be on the sidelines wishing you were on the track than on the track wishing you were on the sidelines. Fuel The ONLY time you have too much fuel is when you're on fire. *The Rear Wheel The rear wheel is just a big fan used to keep the rider cool and his butt relaxed. If in doubt... watch. When it locks up or slides out you can actually see the rider start sweating and pucker marks are left on the seat. Too Slow No one has ever hit something too slow. Rides A 'good' ride is one you can walk away from. A 'great' ride is one you can walk away from and use the bike again. Getting Hit They can't hit you if you're not there. Mistakes Learn from the mistakes of others. You won't live long enough to make all of them yourself. *Side Stands You know you've left the side stand down when all left turns are Bat-turns. Center Stands You know you've left the center stand down when you're in top gear at 4000 rpm going nowhere. Traction When traction is sparse, the probability of survival is inversely proportional to the angle of lean. Large angle of lean, small probability of survival and vice versa. Your Brain Never let a motorcycle take you somewhere your brain didn't go five seconds earlier. *Fog Stay out of fog. The single red taillight you think is another rider ahead that you can catch, might be the red starboard light of a docked boat. Parking Always try to keep the number of times you park the bike equal to the number of times you've ridden it. Luck & Experience You start with a bag full of luck and an empty bag of experience. The trick is to fill the bag of experience before you empty the bag of luck. *Mirrors If all you can see in your mirrors is the direction you were previously traveling intermingled with sparks, and all you can hear is commotion from the passenger riding pillion; things are not at all as they should be. *Other Objects In the ongoing battle between objects made of metal, rubber and plastic going dozens of miles per hour, and the ground going zero miles per hour, the ground has yet to lose. Same holds for cars, trucks, walls and most animals. Draws don't count. *Judgment Good judgment comes from experience. Unfortunately, experience usually comes from bad judgment. Going Forward It's always a good idea to keep the headlight end going forward as much as possible. Looking Keep looking around. There's always something you've missed. Laws Remember, gravity and centrifugal force are not just good ideas. They're laws not subject to repeal.