Tag Archives: blind spot

The Why’s of Motorcycles: Speed Changes

If you ask someone that rides motorcycles why they do so, you may get a variety of answers. If you let them talk long enough, one of the things they will probably list is speed. Even at low speeds, being on top of a motorcycle makes it feel like you are flying down the road. For some people, namely irresponsible and (usually) young, this is very near the truth. But for more responsible riders, like me, the “speed” is more a “sense of” rather than an actuality. I don’t ride any faster than I drive and yet the sense of speed is a big draw.

Before I started riding, I found motorcyclists to be very uncomfortable to be around on the road. Often they’d be near (usually in front of) me and keeping pace with traffic. Then, with a twist of the wrist, they’d shoot forward quickly to a new position and slow down again. This seemed at best distracting and at worst dangerous. Why were these motorcyclists acting so erratically? Continue reading The Why’s of Motorcycles: Speed Changes