SAFETY ARTICLE

Guest Article by Ron McKinely

National H.O.G. Group Riding Instructor

Dear Fellow Hoggers:

Here I am riding down the road, on the way to central North Dakota, it is snowing and the roads are icy. I am riding with Regional Manager Paul Rapp, and if you would know Paul like I know Paul, you will understand that you might see “oh ****” as I am writing this safety letter. The reason I am writing this letter as HE drives is that I am not looking at the road as often, and this way I am not seeing things I do not want to see, you know things that make you say “oh ****”.

I know this would not make a good passenger on a motorcycle, but I do not care, I do not want to see what is coming.

Speaking of wind, have you ever been on the receiving end of a strong cross wind? It is not fun, is it? I talked to a HOG member that related to me that he was riding in a strong cross wind, came upon a semi, on a two lane road. He proceeded to pass the semi and when he cleared, oh ****, sorry I looked up, the front bumper he did not adjust his motorcycle for the cross wind that was cut off while he was passing the truck, and he wound up in the ditch. He was unhurt; several dollars of damage to his bike, but learned an important lesson. That is you cannot ever take your mind off your riding and using SEE. What would you have done to adjust to this type of wind when it is cut off and all of a sudden there it is again?

When we are riding in the strong winds we all are leaning the m/c into the wind to keep somewhat of a straight line, how do we do this? By pushing on the handgrip to get the bike to lean. Example, a strong South wind we would be pushing on the left grip. So as you pass the semi or are being passed you must remember to adjust that pressure on the handgrip when the semi cuts the wind off and we also must remember that when the semi is clear of us the good old wind will be back and we have to be ready to apply pressure on the handgrip to get the bike to lean back into the wind. By being aware of your surroundings does make, oh ****, dang I looked up again, for a much more enjoyable ride.

The same goes for the following: You are following a vehicle and paying attention to what it is doing and looking at the oncoming traffic, there are no major intersections around you, but what about the driveway approaches, and the approaches to the fields, just because you see a vehicle that appears to be a long distance away you give it no never mind. This is just the one that could cause you a lot of trouble, you see it, but put it out of your mind and turn your attention back to the vehicle in front of you. You cannot ever stop using SEE while your riding. To review what SEE is, S---Scan, know what is going on all around your m/c, E---Evaluate, this is where you play the what if game. What if that vehicle that looks a distance away from me picks up speed and gets to that approach, he will see the pickup but will not see me. What would I do if this happens, E---Execute, this is where you make the action that you have decided to do when you were playing the what if game. What you have done by using SEE is that you are formulating a plan of action if need be, and if you have to execute it will take you less time to do so because you already have a plan. If you wait to make a plan just prior to the execute stage you have wasted time and it might be too late. Sort of what I am doing now when I take the chance to look up, I do believe my eyes have grown to saucer size, so I will say have a safe and fun ride, I hope this one turns into one, and more later.

Freedom

Ron