Urban Motorcycle Riding (Advanced Tactics For Two Wheeled Combat)

Sure, big cities kinda suck for motorcyclists but the reality is that's where many of us live and work. Whether it's family ties, easy access to 24/7 pizza or the day job that pays for those stacks of motorcycle tires, here we are in the land of stop lights, traffic jams and the other horrors of high-density population centers. And even folks who live out in the hinterlands have to traverse cities at least sometimes. That's the nature of urban motorcycle riding.

Of course, many of the basics of city riding are pretty well-known. Riders know the limited traction properties of center lane grease spots and manhole covers and they heed the Salty Olde Ryder's true but vague advice to "ride like you're invisible", "always plan for an escape route" and "everyone's tryin' ta kill ya". Well, yeah. We all know about that stuff.

This article is the urban motorcycle riding advanced class - it presents those lesser-known principles and practices for surviving and thriving in heavy traffic and teeming crowds of brainless cage pilots.

That's right - it is, in fact, quite possible to enjoy your commute and even have a heck of a lot of fun riding motorcycles in cities without becoming a speed bump or road pizza. Here's our assortment of tips and tricks, small and large for making the most of rides in the city.

Check Your Flow-itude

In crowded cities in other countries, drivers and riders share an advanced communal concept of "flow" in heavy traffic. We're all in this together with the same goal, to get where we're going as safely and quickly as possible so the culture expects a bit of cooperation and a little give and take for the greater good.

Cynics could point out that this attitude is largely absent in the US, outside of environments like track days or maybe Manhattan. And they're right, to a degree. It only takes a few selfish drivers to harsh the mellow for many and there's certainly no lack of those.

Still, it's important to be polite, predictable and smoooooth, just like on the track. Flow through, become water, ride the currents of traffic and communal motion causing the smallest possible ripples. Strive to be invisible, undetectable, calm yet focused and to leave no traces of skin on pavement or paint on car doors.

The Eyes Don't Have It

In urban motorcycle riding, some riders foolishly believe that eye contact with steering wheel holders means that drivers won't drive into them. This is, of course, the furthest thing from the truth.

It's also a pointless distraction. If you're spending any time at all longing for those baby blues behind windshields to look your way, you are also focusing your attention far too close and far too narrowly. You are trusting the lizard brain behind those vacant peepers to:

1. Register your presence
2. Give a hoot
3. Behave rationally

Sorry, that just ain't happening. We all know that "trust" is a bad word in city traffic.

Sometimes things like a cage pilot's head movements can be useful (looking around in confusion, looking to one side, eyes glued to phone, etc.) but in general you want to read the "body language" of the vehicle, not the unpredictable humanoid inside.

Turn Left Only From The Leftmost Lane

This one's super-specific to urban motorcycle riding. If there's more than one lane turning left next to lanes going straight, always use the one furthest left if at all possible. I live near a few of these and have personally seen several nasty crashes result from folks who wanted to go straight, ended up in the rightmost left turn lane, then slammed into the waiting car ahead or swerved right and got rear-ended. Just don't be there.

But use your judgement and experience; in some cases, the rightmost left-turning lane is the place to be because it's the least likely to get invaded by wandering cages or maybe it sets you up better for the next light or turn.

Use Blockers While Urban Motorcycle Riding

Intersections obviously harbor the greatest dangers, chief of which is the dreaded Blind Blundering Buick. Look for opportunities to use four (and more) wheeled vehicles as shields. For example, if there's a truck turning left and you're going straight, then anyone running the red light from that side will have to go through them to get to you. That frees up a bit more bandwidth to focus ahead and to your right. This is especially true in urban motorcycle riding.

So sometimes it's well worth adjusting your position and speed a bit to use a blocker when crossing intersections.

Stay Clear Of Visitors

Indianapolis is an urban island in a sea of cornfields so a common sight downtown is a pickup with rural plates wandering left-to-right, going the wrong way on one-way streets and generally darting around and behaving unpredictably. "Gawrsh! Lookit all them talllllllll buildings!"

And much the same applies in other places; locals who live in destination cities recognize the carloads of darting, lost tourons. Give 'em a wide, wiiiiiide berth and expect the unexpected. It's a survival skill.

Unloading Zone

This one's simple: loaded pickups, dump trucks, landscaping trailers, boats on trailers, vans with ladders on roof racks and cars with open trunks stuffed with stuff all tend to dump said stuff into the road right in front of you. Leave space, change lanes and pass with extreme prejudice at the earliest opportunity.

The Loaded Zone & Urban Motorcycle Riding

A lot of people love to get drunk and drive around, especially on Friday and Saturday nights. Obvious, yes. But get where you're going and hunker down before 9pm or so. And if there's a big game on TV, 15 minutes after it ends people pour out and it's officially drunk o'clock as the sports bars empty. (Plus, if the home team lost, they're going to leave sooner and be a little more grumpy.)

Same goes for the stoners bimbling along just under the speed limit and stopping at green lights while emitting billows of odorous smoke. Sure, they're usually less angry than the alkys but they're just as unpredictable and no less dangerous.

Take A Beat For The Red Light Runners

Green means GO!, right? Well ... if you're at the front of the line at a red light, pause for a few heartbeats to take a good look left and right before proceeding. You'll be glad you did, far more often than you like. It's table stakes for urban motorcycle riding.

Breakin' The Law, Breakin' The Law ...

Aviation includes a principle and the FAA even puts it in regulations, that permits and requires a pilot to ignore, defy or break any law needed in order to keep their airplane safe. As far as I can tell, nobody wrote a similar regulation for motorcyclists but we might as well act like there is. After all, we can do things that cars and trucks cannot and other road users can squash us.

For example, lane splitting is not legal in most of the US. But if your escape route leads between the rows, then take it without hesitation if needed. Same for riding on sidewalks or ducking through parking lots. You gotta do what you gotta do to be safe so do it quick.

On crowded highways, the left lane traveling a bit faster than traffic usually provides the safest place for a motorcycle. That way, you have very few threats to your left, fewer threats from behind and you have more control over what's ahead of you. If that means the number on your speedo is higher than the number on the sign, well ... so be it.

If you need to go right and there's a line of cars waiting to go straight, often you'll be safer doing a little sort-of lane splitting to get to the front and squirt around the corner (just watch for pedestrians, of course.)

Or perhaps a dump truck just entered the highway in front of you, sowing a cloud of chaos and gravel. When passing proves the best move, pass and be not gentle. Use your power, skills and maneuverability for your own good. Assertion with purpose defines urban motorcycle riding.

Riding a dual-sport bike? In addition to better pothole handling, you get a lot more options for escape routes. Keep them in mind just in case.

Raging Cagers & Urban Motorcycle Riding

Dealing with road ragers constitutes a whole 'nuther topic of its own but the principles stay simple:

1. Don't participate
2. Don't be there.

Much as you might like to communicate your dissatisfaction in whatever ways, just ... don't. That way lies only darkness and death. The harsh reality: people in cars can largely murder people on motorcycles without physical or legal consequence simply by wailing (repeat after me) "Ah din't SEE UM!"

Dodging frequent murder attempts plays a part in the two-wheeled street game so we must accept the responsibility of managing this risk. Besides, anger from taking things personally becomes a distraction, a waste of energy and attention better directed at continued survival and enjoyment.

You also must avoid things that startle or annoy others, like deliberately blatting stupidly loud pipes, aggressive moves, flying fingers and other brands of idiocy. Ride classy and don't attract undue attention.

And when a rager starts to rage, vacate. Evacuate. Make like a tree and leaf. Exfiltrate, post-haste. Do what it takes to leave the scene of the future crime. Stop, turn, u-turn, filter, accelerate, brake, pass. Ride down a sidewalk if you have to. Stupid splashes so use your advantages to remove yourself from the rager's field of perception and influence. That's survival 101 for urban motorcycle riding.

Don't Get The Squirts While Urban Motorcycle Riding

This one's small and simple: if you're turning into the low sun (west late in the day or turning east early), expect the cars ahead of you to use their windshield squirters as soon as the sun sparkles on the assortment of smeared arthropod remains on their windshields. Many of these dispensers spray such that the stream arcs over the vehicle at low speeds and lands on the motorcycle behind, thus causing consternation.

Let's Learn And Live

Riding every day, every place you can is key to keeping your skills sharp. It takes extreme vigilance and a whole bag of tricks to navigate the mean streets in reasonable safety and to even make city riding enjoyable. What are your tips and tricks for urban survival on two wheels and having fun in urban environments? Your input is invited. Leave a comment and/or write an article!