The Lazy Motorbike, Tips for Motorcycle Riders
You are never finished with learning, when it concerns motorcycle riding. Whether you have just begun to ride or are riding for ages, there will always be a lot to learn (or to get rid of bad habits).
Remember that motorcycle police officers have to come back twice a year for training their riding skills.
That is not with the goal of getting better all the time, but just with the goal of keeping their
riding skills at a certain level and dislearn bad habits!
So, for us humble motorcycle riders, it is necessary to train and be aware of our habits all the time...
On this site, we collect tips on all aspects of motorcycle riding: on cornering, on techniques for looking, on safety, on riding in the mountains, on riding in a group of motorcycle ridersetc, etc. The pages are illustrated with photographs. From time to time, we add a new page.
The tips are presented in a sequence that seems a logical one to us.
Your motorcycle riding gear probably has been made to enhance your safety, you always ride with a helmet, and maybe your motorcycle has ABS. You would almost forget that those measures can only make a small difference in how safe you are, compared with the influence of your own riding behaviour.
Motorcycle riding means that you take full responsibility for your own safety, for instance by learning to anticipate on mistakes of other people on the road. Anticipating mistakes of other people and reacting with the right behaviour is totally different from only thinking that you were right and the other was wrong...
On ths page about safety with respect to motorcycle riding, we try to give some advice on how to enhance your own safety.
To 
Safety for motorcycle riders...
The most important aspect of riding a motorcycle is looking ahead. Being able to look ahead, being able to notice what's important, is a vital element of motorcycle riding.
It would seem that that's something everybody is capable of, but you will notice
that there is much to learn about looking ahead.
You ride towards where you look, so to learn cornering well, you will have to look in the right direction.
On traffic, you will have to learn to notice far more than you usually see.
Whether safety or speed appeals most to you, you will have to work on your looking skills. What's there to see? How can you practise your capabilities? This page tries to formulate an answer.
To Looking and motorcycle riding...
The essence of motorcycle riding is cornering: many motorcycle riders agree with that. You may keep enhancing your cornering skills for the rest of your life, and you will probably never reach full perfection (well, maybe with the exception of Valentino Rossi and Dani Pedrosa).
What kind of mistakes are often made in corners, and what is the reason for those mistakes? What can you do about it? What is the perfect line, and how do you find it? When do you brake, and what is the right speed for a corner?
Reading about cornering is, of course, not enough: you will have to practise, practise, practise.
Here some tips on how to do that
To Cornering on a motorcycle...
In the Netherlands, beginning motorcycle riders are taught how to brake. In many countries, starting motorcycle riders have to find out how to brake well themselves.
But even when you did receive lessons in braking, it is advisable to keep practising, especially when you change bikes.
This page summarizes how to brake in different circumstances and on different motorcycle.
How do you brake in case of an emergency stop?
And how can you achieve the shortest stopping distance?
And which difference does the kind of motorcycle you ride make?
And how and when do you use the front and the rear brake?
To How to brake well on a motorcycle...
When you want to buy a new helmet, motorcycle jacket, trousers, gloves or boots, what are the requirements?
What are the different materials and what are the differences?
How do you protect yourself against cold, heat and rain?
This page tries to sort some things out.
To Clothing for motorcycle riders...
Whether you go touring for a day or a weekend, or want to have a vacation riding on your motorcycle, sometimes it is convenient to be able to cover long distances on your motorcycle.
Is that possible with every motorcycle or isn't it? What do you have to do to stay for hours in the saddle without getting tired or getting a sore butt? How many miles can you cover in an day? This page tries to formulate the answers.
To Riding long distances on motorcycle...
The Ardennes, the Vosges, the Black Forest, the Alps, the Pyerenees, the Carpathians, Snowdonia, the Picos Europa,
the Sierra Nevada, the Appennines, the list is almost endless: mountain regions.
Ideal for motorcycle riders, but if you are used to ride in a flat country, there are some new aspects.
How do you brake when riding downward, and how do you brake when riding up? What is the ideal line
in a switchback or hairpin? How do you cope with fear of heights?
Here are some tips about what's different for motorcycle riders in a three-dimensional landscpae as opposed to a flat country.
To Motorcycle riding in the mountains...
When you go on a camping trip on motorcycle, there are a lot of questions to answer: what kind of tent do you need? Which sleeping bag? What do you take with you, and what kind of luggage do you need to get all your stuff along?
How do you cook? This page tries to help you answering these questions.
To Camping with a motorcycle...
In the United Kingdom they are called born-again bikers: people with a motorcycle past, who want to take up riding again.
If you rode a motorcycle, long ago, and now, after years without a bike, you want to take up riding again, there are some risks to keep in mind.
The same applies, to a lesser degree, to motorcycle riders who stop riding in the winter and start riding again in the spring.
On this page, we have gathered some tips and advice to start riding again safely.
To A second motorcycle career...
When you ride individually, you can control your own speed, and are able to use your attention to look ahead and anticipate. In a group, that's different.
Is it possible to ride in a group in such a way that not only everybody is safe, but also that everybody is able to enjoy the ride? What are the pitfalls when riding in a group?
The rules described here have been tested many times...
To Motorcycle riding in a group...
Every motorcyclist knows them, the lesser moments:
You have crashed, and you are struggling to get you confidence back. You can't get yourself to enter corners as fast as you wish, or you are afraid of locking your front wheel every time you brake.
How do you cope? You have to "get over it", some people will tell you. But how do you do that? Is there such a thing as getting over your fear? If not, how to get rid of your fear?
This page tries to formulate an answer.
To Fear on a motorcycle...
The weather is not always perfect for motorcycle riding. If you commute by bike, you will have to keep riding through rain, through storm, in the mist, and maybe even while it snows.
On your holiday, in the Alps for instance, you can suddenly be caught by bad weather.
Are there any tricks to keep upright in heavy storm? And what are the do's and don'ts when the road is slippery?
On this page, we have gathered tips for motorcycle riding in extreme weather conditions.
To Motorcycle riding in bad weather...
Many motorcycles allow you to take a pillion along. On this page, we wrote tips about riding with a pillion.
The pillion himself (or herself) too, can find tips about how to behave on the backseat of a motorcycle, in a way that riding is as pleasant as possible for both motorcycle rider and pillion.
To Motorcycle riding with a pillion...
