The Eyes Have It

One of the most important factors of being a good motorcycle rider is knowing how important it is to use your head and eyes, and I’m not only talking about looking at pretty girls, I’m talking about PRECEPTION also. We take for granted that sight is part of riding, but while you are riding what are you seeing? In the distance on a two lane and coming your way do you see that four wheeler with the left turn signal on as a potential threat of your right-a-way, or are you watching the cows out in the field groovin’ on the nice day because somehow you feel that being in the right will protect you from harm? If you are in a defensive driving mode, as you should be, you will take your perception of the turning cage as a threat and slow down and cover your brakes. NEVER flash your headlight at a cage waiting to turn in an intersection, some drivers see this as a signal for them to go ahead.

At times when I practice slow riding in a parking lot I catch myself telling myself to keep my head up and keep my eyes focused where I want the scooter to go. This is a Cardinal rule when it comes to any riding class, but it isn’t an easy trait to master. I have found (several times) on a slow speed cone course that when I look down, I go down. When I get a total vision of the course and keep my head and eyes up and looking where I want to go I do well. The same holds true for on the road, look ahead, think ahead, and be ready.

In a group, having a total picture of your surroundings is most important. Keep your head and eyes moving from two or three bikes ahead to twelve seconds ahead, to the mirrors of the scooter on your left or right, and back to your mirrors. Look for signals coming from the front, pass them back for others to see, and look for curves and intersections on the road even before the lead bikes get to it, this will keep any surprises on your ride to a minimum.

The method is the same when you are riding the Tail of the Dragon, or on a back road with a few sweeping curves. Always position your scooter in a curve so that visibility is number one. Remember, in a curve it is important to look to the exit of the curve and where you want your scooter to go. Put your bike in a position that will optimize you being able to see the farthest around the curve, this will make you visible to oncoming traffic also. Keep your eyes focused where you want the bike to go and make it go there by counter steering. If you get in trouble in a curve no worry, more than likely you’re not dragging metal yet. Keep your focus on the end of the curve, push a little more on the bars and lower your center of gravity by tucking down over the bars like a moto-racer would. Looking at the shoulder will take you there…

John ‘Hammer’ Hanzlik
ALR Road Captain
Chapter 1 Omaha, Neb.