Since there has been a ton of validation and little teaching going on in here lately, here are few tips from the most hated man in show business.
1. Don't validate: If you are teaching something, the idea is not to validate something and move on, it's to provide the reasoning, concepts and FACTS behind the idea.
2. If you use the words "I think" or "I feel" in front of your answer, you should take a step back and research what you're talking about before answering.
3. If you've been riding for less than 36 months, please don't give advice without letting people know that. Between months 1 and 36 you are most likely to get into an accident and the highest risk time is the period between months 12-36.
4. Always start from ground zero. Assume that the person asking has no clue, regardless.
5. Just because someone road a bike 20 years ago doesn't mean its open season to any displacement. Returning riders are crashing their brains out and dying due to their propensity to over buy. Trust me on this one newbs, my 93 GSXR750 racebike was far slower than any 600 you can buy off of the floor nowadays. I looked up the speeds for an AMA winning superbike from 1990 and it was slower than any current literbike you can buy. Technology takes huge leaps each year and so do the speeds.
6. Biking is LEARNED, not natural. I played sports in school. I box, play hockey, Semi-pro baseball, I started on a national championship winning flag football team as a defensive end and I've played other sports. I am an above average athlete.
None of this applies to riding a bike safely. I went to school, learned and keep learning on a constant basis. It is a learned skill that is hugely mental. The physical aspect comes into play, but more so, on the track than on the street. Stressing the mental aspect of riding is the key to properly conveying the message.
7. Learn your topic. If you’re going to advise, have the teacher's edition handy. There's a ton of info out there and you obviously have the internet. Use it and research.
8. Know that everyone is the same. Regardless of protestations of difference, everyone is subject to the same issues. I don't care if Michael Schumacher came in here and said he'd never ridden a bike before or Joe Blow off of the street. Both cases would be from ZERO and they would both face the same challenges and issues for a new rider.
There seems to be a thought process that if someone sounds mature or is older that they will somehow be safer. This is incorrect. Even if someone practices restraint on a throttle, it doesn't mean they're mitigating all risk. I go back to learning. If you've ridden for any length of time, you know that throttle is not everything.
IMHO 50% of the time, it's the situation you're put in on the street that's the most challenging. What part of the lane do I ride in? Does that car ahead look like it's going to cut in front of me? I am approaching an intersection, what am I looking for? These few examples (and there are thousands of others) are what I run into every time I ride and none of them involve speeding. Speeding actually isn't as big of a killer as everyone makes it out to be. Loss of control is far more common.
In short, everyone is subject to the same learning curve when starting
9. Think twice about passing advice you've been given. If it sounds stupid, it probably is. This is a rash on our sport and should be treated as such. So, no more flipping over the handlebars when grabbing the front brake comments and the like.
10. Respect has little to do with learning. We often use the word respect when riding a bike. Why would respect have anything to do with it? Riding a bike is a mental process.
When you first learned math, did the teacher put the book down in front of you and you learned it by respecting it?
Respect is BS. If you hammer a throttle in a corner on a big bike, you'll probably fall. That's not due to lack of respect, that's cause and effect. Everything you do has a reaction that can be positive or negative. If you LEARN properly, you should get the positive reaction. Pick the right learning tool (smaller bike) and learn the proper technique (MSF and ongoing education). In short, you don't learn through respect in any other discipline, why should it be different on a bike?
1. Don't validate: If you are teaching something, the idea is not to validate something and move on, it's to provide the reasoning, concepts and FACTS behind the idea.
2. If you use the words "I think" or "I feel" in front of your answer, you should take a step back and research what you're talking about before answering.
3. If you've been riding for less than 36 months, please don't give advice without letting people know that. Between months 1 and 36 you are most likely to get into an accident and the highest risk time is the period between months 12-36.
4. Always start from ground zero. Assume that the person asking has no clue, regardless.
5. Just because someone road a bike 20 years ago doesn't mean its open season to any displacement. Returning riders are crashing their brains out and dying due to their propensity to over buy. Trust me on this one newbs, my 93 GSXR750 racebike was far slower than any 600 you can buy off of the floor nowadays. I looked up the speeds for an AMA winning superbike from 1990 and it was slower than any current literbike you can buy. Technology takes huge leaps each year and so do the speeds.
6. Biking is LEARNED, not natural. I played sports in school. I box, play hockey, Semi-pro baseball, I started on a national championship winning flag football team as a defensive end and I've played other sports. I am an above average athlete.
None of this applies to riding a bike safely. I went to school, learned and keep learning on a constant basis. It is a learned skill that is hugely mental. The physical aspect comes into play, but more so, on the track than on the street. Stressing the mental aspect of riding is the key to properly conveying the message.
7. Learn your topic. If you’re going to advise, have the teacher's edition handy. There's a ton of info out there and you obviously have the internet. Use it and research.
8. Know that everyone is the same. Regardless of protestations of difference, everyone is subject to the same issues. I don't care if Michael Schumacher came in here and said he'd never ridden a bike before or Joe Blow off of the street. Both cases would be from ZERO and they would both face the same challenges and issues for a new rider.
There seems to be a thought process that if someone sounds mature or is older that they will somehow be safer. This is incorrect. Even if someone practices restraint on a throttle, it doesn't mean they're mitigating all risk. I go back to learning. If you've ridden for any length of time, you know that throttle is not everything.
IMHO 50% of the time, it's the situation you're put in on the street that's the most challenging. What part of the lane do I ride in? Does that car ahead look like it's going to cut in front of me? I am approaching an intersection, what am I looking for? These few examples (and there are thousands of others) are what I run into every time I ride and none of them involve speeding. Speeding actually isn't as big of a killer as everyone makes it out to be. Loss of control is far more common.
In short, everyone is subject to the same learning curve when starting
9. Think twice about passing advice you've been given. If it sounds stupid, it probably is. This is a rash on our sport and should be treated as such. So, no more flipping over the handlebars when grabbing the front brake comments and the like.
10. Respect has little to do with learning. We often use the word respect when riding a bike. Why would respect have anything to do with it? Riding a bike is a mental process.
When you first learned math, did the teacher put the book down in front of you and you learned it by respecting it?
Respect is BS. If you hammer a throttle in a corner on a big bike, you'll probably fall. That's not due to lack of respect, that's cause and effect. Everything you do has a reaction that can be positive or negative. If you LEARN properly, you should get the positive reaction. Pick the right learning tool (smaller bike) and learn the proper technique (MSF and ongoing education). In short, you don't learn through respect in any other discipline, why should it be different on a bike?