12 Motorcycle Tips I Learned After 11 Years of Responding to Crashes

Look Where You Want to Go

Your body follows your eyes. If you look at the guardrail, you'll ride toward the guardrail. If you look at the pothole, you'll hit the pothole. If you look through the curve to where you want to exit — your bike goes there.

This is the single most important habit a new rider can build. In a turn, your eyes should already be at the exit point while your bike is still entering the curve. You don't need aggressive body position. You don't need trail braking. You need to look where you want to go and stay loose on the bars. The motorcycle does the rest.

I've reviewed thousands of crash videos where the rider fixated on the hazard instead of looking at the escape route. Target fixation is real, it's common, and it's one of the first things the SMART Rider Training System teaches you to override through deliberate practice.

Ride More Defensively Than You Drive

In a car, a patch of gravel is a minor annoyance. On a motorcycle, it can put you on the ground. A car absorbs bumps, potholes, and road debris without drama. A motorcycle transmits all of it directly to you — and a single unexpected input can cause a loss of control.

This means you need to ride with a level of awareness that your car-driving habits never required. Scan the road surface constantly. Watch for gravel, sand, grass clippings, oil slicks, painted lines in the rain, and metal plates. Cover your brakes approaching intersections. Roll off the throttle when something looks off.

This is exactly what the PLAN Method is built for — a continuous loop of positioning safely, locating hazardous situations, assessing which ones are real threats, and navigating them before they become emergencies. You don't just react to hazards on a motorcycle. You anticipate them. The riders who get hurt are the ones riding with car-driver awareness on a machine that demands motorcycle-level attention.

Put Your Kickstand Down Before You Get Off

This sounds like a joke. It's not. I've seen it happen more times than I can count — and I've done it myself.

After a long, hot ride, you're tired, dehydrated, mentally checked out. You swing your leg over, put your weight on one foot — and the bike goes down because you forgot the kickstand. It happens fast, it's embarrassing, and depending on the bike and the surface, it can cause real damage.

Build the habit: kickstand down, bike leaned onto the stand, then dismount. Every time. Make it automatic so it works even when your brain is cooked from a 99-degree ride in southern Arizona.

Adjust Your Mirrors Before You Ride

If the first time you check your mirror in traffic and you're looking at your own elbow, you've got a problem — and you've got it at the worst possible moment.

Before every ride, while the bike is stationary in a low-hazard area, make small adjustments to both mirrors. Look forward, adjust, look forward, adjust. You should be able to see the lane behind you with minimal head movement. This takes 30 seconds and eliminates a problem that could cost you during a lane change or at an intersection.

Do a Pre-Ride Inspection

Every time. Not once a month. Not when something feels wrong. Every ride.

Here's how I do it: when I'm down at the tire checking PSI, I'm not just staring at the valve stem. I'm looking at the tire surface for wear, checking the brake pads, scanning hoses and fittings, looking for anything that wasn't there yesterday. I'm training my eye to know what "normal" looks like — so on day 11, when something changes, I catch it before it becomes a problem on the road.

The SAFE-T Method takes this further — it's a pre-ride inspection framework that starts with the rider's mental state before it ever gets to the motorcycle. State of Mind, Assume the Risks, Fitness, Equipment, Tires and Controls. Because a distracted rider on a perfect bike is more dangerous than a focused rider on a bike with a scuffed tire. The full SAFE-T framework is part of the SMART Rider Training System.

Know Your Fuel Range

Not every motorcycle has a fuel gauge. And even if yours does, you should still know your actual range in miles — because running out of fuel on the shoulder of a highway is a hazard, not an inconvenience.

Here's the method: fill up your tank completely, then set your trip meter to zero. Ride normally. When your reserve light comes on (or the bike starts sputtering if you don't have one), check the trip meter. That's your range. Now you know: every 80 to 100 miles, fill up. On longer rides, plan your gas stops before you leave so you're never caught out in the middle of nowhere with an empty tank.

Don't Touch Hot Metal

The exhaust pipe on a motorcycle can reach 500°F or more during normal operation — and it stays dangerously hot for a long time after you park. Five minutes off doesn't mean it's safe to touch.

New riders learn this the hard way when they brush a calf against the pipe while getting off, or grab the wrong part of the bike while moving it in a parking lot. Know where the hot parts are on your motorcycle. Stay clear of them. Warn your passengers.

Get Full Gear — Head to Toe

Helmet, jacket, gloves, pants, boots. Not some of it. All of it. Every ride.

Your gear is your climate control system and your crash protection rolled into one. In summer, mesh gear with armor gives you airflow without sacrificing impact protection. In winter, insulated gear keeps you warm enough to ride without shivering — because shivering causes erratic inputs into the bike, and erratic inputs cause loss of control.

The riders I responded to who were wearing full gear walked away from crashes that would have hospitalized an unprotected rider. The ones wearing a t-shirt and sneakers didn't. That's not a scare tactic — it's a pattern I saw repeated for 11 years. If you're still building your gear setup, our Beginner Motorcycle Gear Guide breaks down exactly what to get and why.

Dress in Layers

Your outer gear can stay the same — it's what you wear underneath that changes with the weather.

In cold weather, add a moisture-wicking base layer and a hoodie or fleece under your jacket. In summer, wear a lightweight base layer to manage sweat and keep the mesh gear from chafing. The goal is to stay in a temperature range where you're comfortable enough to focus on the ride — because the moment you're shivering or overheating, your attention shifts from the road to your own discomfort. And on a motorcycle, distraction isn't just uncomfortable. It's dangerous.

Cold riders make bad decisions. Hot riders get fatigued faster. Either one can push you toward hypothermia or heat exhaustion on longer rides. Layer smart, stay comfortable, stay focused.

Pick Boots With Good Traction

This isn't about running. It's about what happens when you put your foot down at a stop sign on a sandy surface, a wet road, or a painted crosswalk.

If your boot slips when you plant your foot, the bike can go over — and depending on the weight of the motorcycle, you could twist an ankle, throw out your back, or end up pinned under 500 pounds. Good traction also keeps your feet secure on the pegs, which matters for control at all speeds.

Get motorcycle-specific boots with reinforced soles, ankle protection, and grip that works on pavement. Fashion boots, work boots, and sneakers don't cut it.

Know Your State's Motorcycle Laws

Motorcycle laws vary dramatically from state to state. Helmet requirements, lane splitting rules, passenger age restrictions, required gear — none of it is universal.

In California, helmets are mandatory. In Arizona, only eye protection is required. That doesn't mean you shouldn't wear a helmet in Arizona — it means the law won't protect you from the consequences of not wearing one. Lane splitting is legal in some states, illegal in most. Know what's legal where you ride before you ride there.

Search your state's DMV or DOT website for the current motorcycle-specific statutes. If you're preparing for your endorsement test, our MSF Motorcycle Practice Test Walkthrough covers the knowledge test in detail.

Check Your Tire Pressure — Every Single Ride

I'm repeating this one on purpose because it's that important.

Under-inflated tires can fold in a turn. Over-inflated tires reduce your contact patch and grip. Either one can send you to the ground in a situation where correct tire pressure would have kept you upright. And beyond safety, correct PSI extends the life of your tires — which means fewer replacements and less money out of your pocket.

Check your owner's manual for the recommended PSI. Get a small gauge and keep it in your jacket or tank bag. Make it part of your pre-ride routine — check PSI, scan the bike, then ride. It takes two minutes and it eliminates a category of problems you never want to discover at speed.

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