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I've worked in the Automotive Repair Industry for twenty three years. Most all car and truck drivers have half of their vehicle in their rearview mirrors. My rule of thumb both for cars, trucks and motorcycles is, you don't need to see your vehicle in your mirrors, you know it's there. You need to see others around you. Move those mirrors out to a position where the rear most edge of your vehicle or in the case of your two wheel vehicle, your elbows, so you can see the largest landscape behind you, of all others around you. Great video brother. Keep up the good information.
What I do with my car side mirrors is move them out until they reach the end of their travel. Then, move them back in slightly, so they are not jammed hard over. This, for me, is the 'Optimal' mirror position. With the side mirrors in this position, I can track another automobile (motorcycles not so much) from the rear, to the side, then off in front, without loosing sight of it... No Blind Spots people. If you loose sight of another automobile as it passes you, then your mirrors are adjusted Incorrectly. Motorcycles are a smaller vehicle... and we cannot track them (visually) all the way around our cars... However, if you are scanning your mirrors every few seconds like the experts suggest, then you will 'know' a motorcycle is approaching from the rear. When it goes out of sight as it passes, it is Beside you. You don't need to be able to see it, to know it's there.
@@Ducati_Dude that's counter intuitive, but i'm driving a pickup that have a trunk top and my side mirrors are used same at motorcycle one to see the rear too
Yes, this is very common. People want to have their vehicle in their side view mirrors as a reference, but it turns out that you get used to it either way. As a NASA instructor once told me, your side mirrors are supposed to be aimed at your blindspot such that someone walking from the LHS of the vehicle to the RHS of the vehicle should be visible in at least 1 mirror at all times. Switching to that style has made my confidence in what vehicles are around me skyrocket
I am a 48 year veteran long haul driver, and part time instructor. I have been saying this for years! You do not need to see your vehicle in your mirrors. You know it's there! You need to see cars, and bicycles etc. If I want to see my nice shiny paint, I just turn my head. And then I go back to looking at traffic. That is what those mirrors are supposed to be for. Another thing. You do NOT need to see any sky in any mirror. The top should be about at the horizon. There's never a need to look at birds, planes, or sky. Do your bird watching some other time. I have a You Tube video on this stuff.
Thank you for these videos. I've been riding for 3 years and your tips not only help but they keep teaching me important things like the fact that there's still a lot more to learn. I will add that I use two tick marks made with a sharpie(silver on black mirror arms). One for the vertical plane and one for the horizontal plane. I add it to my pre ride check because things get moved. Bumped in the garage or in the parking lot from curious people. If nothing else it adds the peace of mind that I know the mirrors are where they are supposed to be. Then you get the one or two times where you have to tweak them back into place. But better to know ahead of time instead of finding out on the road that your mirrors are off.
Excellent tip there! Thank you. When you live where nothing is flat or level where you ride, it's hard to tell if the mirrors are set okay. Next ride, I'll go somewhere flat and put index marks on both mirrors.
Excellent tip. As I'm a lazy guy, I can think of using the shape of the mirrors as guide, for instance, the elbow should match with the corner or something like that.
dont forget the mirrors are closer than the objects in them.. this guy is the real deal. I never fail to learn something when I watch his videos and I've been riding 50 years...
Whilst you are obviously an experienced rider, I myself have now been riding for more years than I care to think about (clue my first bike was a Yamaha FS1E moped). No but seriously I hope you don't mind me saying whilst you mention "positioning the mirror to see the points of the elbows" which is absolutely correct, the positioning of the mirror arm is also relevant to equation in order to gain the maximum scope, and in fact I myself have only just found this out but, the arm should be 90 degrees to the carriage way (sorry if that's a bit English I guess a lot of people would say "lane") . Probably a better way of putting it is 90 degrees to the straight front wheel. Following that the correct alignment of the mirror body to catch those elbows as you have already spoken so clearly on. Once again hope you don't mind me adding this. Respect brothers and sisters.
Kevin, my name is Joe Murdock. I have listened to many of your educational videos on U Tube and have learned a lot from you, THANK YOU VERY MUCH!! In recent weeks I was involved in a side swipe with a deer. It did not survive. It broke both bones in my left leg just above the ankle. After impact the H-D Sturgis went into a bad wobble. I got it under control and got it stoped and on kickstand without anymore drama! But what I really believe is that the Lord saved my bacon! I have been riding 35 plus years. I am on the mend.
Kevin, just watched your "eye" video...thanks for your honesty. I'm an "older" guy (60) that ridden several years ago but now feels the calling to get back into the sport. Thus the purchase of a 2009 BMW R1200GS. Joined your channel and am humbly watching and looking for ways to make myself a better rider. Wanted to thank you for your offerings and service. I'm a retired CSM USA (22 years, 4 months 19 days). Looking forward to getting on the road with your help. See you out there! Brian
I'm a bit wider than normal guy (I'm easilly 50% wider than my own brother) at the shoulders and ride a quite narrow/urban motorcycle, with a relativelly narrow handlebars. Never got happy with my visibility no matter what (even got a bigger pair of mirrors). But never ocurred me that extensors were a thing! Just got a pair after seeing this video and it pretty much improved my field of view enormouslly! Thanks Kevin!
I'm a big guy on a 2013 Honda CB500x. I recently installed Moto Werks extenders. Nicely machined and instead of admiring my jacket, I can see the road behind me. Now I'm thinking of adding little blind spot mirrors on the inside of the bike's mirrors to get more visibility there.
I have been spooked good couple of times, by doing the head check, before changing lanes. At the merging points and multi level intersections , it is easy for cars to "sneak up" in to the blind spots. And when you see something, you do not expect to see there, it gives you a brief fright.
I just want to thank you for making these videos. I've been watching for the last year since I became a rider and not a passenger. You have taught me a lot and I will continue to keep watching. Oh, and thank you so much for the tire video I just and I mean I just got new tires, it's winter here so I have not ridden on them and the sales person told me 500 miles before they were not slick anymore. Your video made me feel a lot more comfortable knowing I don't have to be worried for that long of a time period. Thanks again.
Unfortunately, I was rear ended. I was coming to an intersection where I was going to make a right turn. There were two people on bicycles going the same was as me and I could tell that we would be getting to the intersection at the same time. Because of that, I turned on my turn signal and braked to a stop so that I could give them the right of way before turning. I checked my mirror and saw that there was a car a couple of hundred feet behind me. I had to wait for the second bicycle to get past me and my mistake was paying more attention to her and not enouigh to the car behind me. The bicycle past me and, just as I was going to release the clutch, I heard a sound behind me. Before I could check my mirror again, the car hit me. The driver hadn't even braked. My Ultra Classic an I went flying into the intersection and I tried to keep it upright but lost the battle. After the two people who were riding the bicycles helped me up from the ground, the other driver came up to me and asked why I stopped. I told him that I was yielding the right of way to the people on bicycles and he had a confused look on his face. Apparently, he never saw the two people and did not see me until a split second before he hit me. I suspect that he was on his cell phone but I had no proof. My bike was totaled (over $15,000 in damage) and I had a nasty whiplash and a minor concussion. The neck injury kept me from riding for a year. Now I have installed an LED taillight to be more visible. I wanted to install a strobe module to flash the lights but that is not legal here in Wisconsin. Now, I am really paranoid about people behind me. I am just thankful that I was wearing a helmet because it did smack the concrete real hard when I went down.
So if bozo is staring at a cell phone so hard that he didn't see you AND two bicyclists AND your flashing blinker AND your brake lights what good are brighter lights that he isn't even looking at? You could have a Pink Floyd laser show going on back there and he would still be staring at the phone trying to read that text or post that picture.
I gave you a thumbs up for posting this. Sorry for the loss of your Ulta! Your experience gives me just that much more ammo, to the reasoning of installing fillers on my Ultra!
The Chosen One please pass this on. The other person in an accident if suspected of being on a phone you have the right to request the phone records of the driver who hit you. The courts are a wonderful place for this to happen. It will add to the list of charges and add to the amount you can sue for.
When I’m slowing down or coming to a stop I’ve already checked my mirrors and I squeeze my brake lever a few times to alert those behind me that I’m stopping or slowing down. If I’m already stopped at a light with no one behind at the present but I see a vehicle come up I again squeeze my brake lever a couple times just for more visual for the approaching vehicle. I have my distance back from the vehicle in front of me and have hopefully a good escape plan. Enjoy all your videos. I’m always learning. Thanks!
I tend to turn my left mirror out a little more and keep my right a little more straight behind. Head check is always a priority for sure on both sides!
That what I've been doing for quite some time. My left mirror shows more of the lane to my left ( good for getting on freeways and for moving left) with almost nothing directly behind but my right is just the opposite with a good view behind me with a slightly bigger blind spot that 's easy to cover with a head check.
You are right on the mark on this one. There's nothing more important when changing lanes than a head check and checking the mirrors when stopping. One thing you should mention, though it doesn't involve mirrors, it is part of stopping is knuckles up. You should always have your wrists in position so your knuckles are pointed up on your throttle hand. That way, if you get rear ended, you automatically close the throttle. Having your knuckles forward will open the throttle if you get hit.
We call it a head check in New Zealand because that is fundamentally what it is. Another thing we try to teach on any kind of turn or lane change is to, (1) Check your mirrors. (2) Turn your indicator on for the direction you are turning, before you reach your turn point (3) Head check to make sure that your wheel track is free of obstruction and then move over. A lot of people will do these orders of operation differently, but the main goal is to ensure that your right of way is not obstructed before you move. A side note is that these are generally performed after the last possible turning point (road, intersection, whatever). It's not always possible as some roads are bunched up, or they might have a unique layout.. But the general idea remains the same.
Love your educational stuff. Getting back to riding after 30-ish years and forgot how calming (once the silly jitters go away) it is to be on a powerful bike. I bought the 2008 Honda VTX 1800 recently (with only 3000 miles on it) but frankly, after 30 plus years? I was a bit stressed out. Thank goodness the biker community is so friendly and helpful. Your channel has helped me regain my confidence once again. Thanks for all you do!
Great vids, Kevin!!! I rode just a bit as a youth, then didn't ride for over 50 years. Got into dual sport, mostly off-road, about 7 years ago (I am not 70). Your vids are all quite professional, very practical and always informative. Thanks loads for the well-done, well-illustrated vids you post. They are especially helpful for those of us who got into the game late. (Son-in-law and I just rode most of the Colorado section of the Trans-American Trail - Sept. 2018. One pot-head nearly took me out in a very small town, but no contact!) Thanks again for your time and expertise! - Ray, in Colorado (Durango area).
Harley D used to have a great mirror that had a blind spot mirror built into it. I have a 2018 Gold Wing and one of the surprises was how good the mirrors are ! I adjust them so I can see my little finger on each hand .
Good video, new rider here. First thing I did on my vstrom 650 was get mirror extenders. 1) My visibility is way better, 2 and unexpected) the wind buffeting was hugely improved / reduced
Love the videos mate, here in Australia we have the Learner test, which is a fully closed off course on small bikes with an instructor or two, they teach us to show the elbow or the middle or around the upper arm which is great, i have never forgotten it and am always re-adjusting depending on my some what lazy form sitting on my GS500 and ours is also a head check or blind spot check, Just some info from another country :) Also hint for some newer riders, I have always checked my mirrors every time I think of it, its great for multi lane roads going at average speeds and also gives you a larger knowledge if something happens in front of you, you can change lanes knowing full well that nothing is there(with a quick precheck before changing)
One other way to make sure the blind spot is ckear is to lean forward and look into the mirror, that way you can see your blind spot in the respective mirrors. it works for cars too! This way you are still looking ahead and covering your blind spot..
@MCrider - Motorcycle Training these videos are literally life saving. ive been riding for 1 week now on my Truimph street tripple 660CC and i'm a bit concerned i've been riding and havent watched every single video here. PS i listen to your vids on speed x2 haha.
Great video. I put 2” round adjustable convex mirrors on my new Goldwing. They help a lot. I use them on all of my automobiles to help eliminate blind spots. Most drivers in cars and on bikes adjust side mirrors improperly. They are Blind Spot mirrors and should adjusted as such.
Kevin I set my mirrors up the same way I set them on my four wheel vehicle. That is, I set them to see the lane immediately next to the mirror & such with a slight turn of the head I can see that side of my vehicle & what's in that lane for a few car lengths back. I always check the mirror, turn on my blinker & turn my head to see what's in that lane before changing lanes & never use those convex mirrors because the take away from my view. That setup on my MC also gives me a complete rearview with a slight turn of the head left to right (or, right to left) to see what's going on behind me.
Thanks for the mirror adjustment tips. I adjusted mine the way you advised then marked them with a sharpie line on the back so I can quickly put back where I know I have it adjusted properly.
Skills and strategy’s is where it’s all at. You Sir are a thorough motorbike trainer. As always thank you so very much. Mirrors and head checks are essential.
It seems like a similar concept to cars. I read somewhere years ago (and that I have adhered to) that said to turn your sideview mirrors out enough so that the side of your car is just out of visibility of the mirror in your normal seating position. This is a great video.
I agree with everything you are saying. I do appreciate your videos. I prefer my mirrors turned to my shoulders. You kept mentioning elbows. That may be correct, but for my 2004 Suzuki Marauder and my 2003 Kawasaki Voyager XII, I prefer my shoulders. I feel it gives me the best rear view. Elbows just seems too low for me. I would suggest elbow to shoulder. That area will/would work better than just elbow. We are all built differently, as are our bikes. On my Voyager I am low shoulder, or shoulder high on mirrors. On my Marauder i am high shoulder,or shoulder high on mirrors. Just my opinion. Keep up the great work. I would also recommend "ride like a pro" for anyone wanting to improve their skills. Helped me.
I always flilter between the lines of cars at stop lights, so I don't get rear ended, not always legal but would rather have a ticket than become a hood ornament on a Chevy. When changing lanes etc my head is connected to my left thumb , when I turn on the indicators I turn and check blind spot. Enjoy your videos and advice. Cheers Greg
I won't filer where it's not legal because I know, as a cager, we're not expecting a motorcycle to be breaking the law and flying up beside us and they startle us. Guess that's a gamble you're willing to take. If you get made into a red splotch, it's be your fault.
Another great video telling me some things that confirm I'm doing the right thing. Anymore that shoulder check is done without a thought, it's automatic. Also as soon as i let off the gas or tap my brakes, I'm looking behind me. Way too many people on cell phones or not paying attention in general. Gotta be ready for anything!!
Good Stuff as always. Something I do is set one mirror for my forward "high alert" position and set the other mirror for my sit back ample space cushion position. I adapted this from a suggestion for ADV rider where they would set one for standing and one for sitting. I figured if I'm standing off-road, I'm not too concerned with what is behind me.
When it comes to braking, all three of my bikes have flashing brake lights, I have even added extra LED lights. My SpYder's third brakes light is a strobe light. I try to not stop to make a left-hand turn if I'm blocking trafic. When stopped at a light, I keep an eye on the rear view mirror and if i see some one coming I keep cycling my brake lights on and off until I see them slowing down. Another trick I like to do is slowing down way early for the stop and let the vehical behind catch up to me where they need to slow down behind me. I NEVER DRIVE IN THE BLIND SPOT. Ride save you all.
I too often squeeze and release my brakes so my light flashes when i'm the last one stopped in line. And I also often turn my hazards on. Slowing down early is good in my books too.
EXACTLY! This morning, driving my "little truck" to work, i spotted a Harley with the same lighting arrangement as mine. I actually told myself out loud "That's terrible for other drivers, I need to fix that!" Then the as that bike passed me I noticed. All that money spent for "Day Lighters LED's and LED signals" not one candle power met the pavement! 100% up in drivers cabs and mirrors. How do we riders expect any respect or space from the cagers, if everything we do is an insult to them? We MUST keep our lights adjusted for our own safety as well as for others!
I like to leave a piece of elbow in the mirror not just for angle of view as said in the video, but also for perspective or depth perception as a reference for objects seen in the mirrors.
Exactly how I have my mirrors. And I pull in my elbows in to see what's behind them too, or open them up and look through the "gap". Frequent mirror checks, scanning and head checks before moving lanes etc. In NZ, we are taught MILO's for lane changing....Mirror, Indicator, Look (head check) move Over.
Good video. If you have someone to assist you, it´s a good excercise to check out how big the blind spot actually is. Let them move from side to side and mark the spots where they "vanish" from your mirrors. That will increase motivation to look over your shoulder prior to any lateral movement. I included checking the mirrors in my preride routine. They are supposed to show a bit of my shoulders at the inner rim. I also scan my mirrors frequently with eye movement. That greatly increases situational awareness.
I've been watching your vids since i atarted riding a bit over a yr ago. Your vids are very practical and useful. Thanks for your time to help use all ride safer. I used to ride with a normal full face helmet but I've hated that my parifial vision was always impeded. So i searched for a better helmet and i came across the company Nolan that makes the N44evo helmet and it was a gane changer in vision for me and helps me be a better and safer rider.
Just when I think there can’t possibly be another topic for Kevin to address, bam, he cracks another one out of the park!! But now I’m sure he has covered everything, right??
This is why I love this channel, always providing us with great knowledge. Some other channels the guys are busy trying to sell you their merch or have you signed up for their patron. Thanks
Here is a suggestion. I have a sport cruiser. I added on CRG Blindsight bar end mirrors, which although small, have a decently wide range of view. I have them pointed behind me and have the stock mirrors pick up where the CRG’s views ends. The stock mirrors end where my peripheral view begins so they are now used to cover my blind area. I basically have a full 360 view around me without the need to do a head check. I highly recommend this type of setup. I still do a quick look to the side just in case but don’t really need to.
Stock Harley mirrors on a Street Glide with 1" bug eyes. When changing lanes I look to the mirrors first, listen for tire and engine noise, turn head and then proceed to change lanes. Good advise as usual Kevin.
Yes, I bias the adjustment outwards for blind spots because of course I'm moving more than stopped. Also it's easier to use "Body English" to look behind while at a standstill than while underway!
In addition to adding the convex blind spot mirrors, on some bikes you can add a second set of mirrors. My LT has fairing mounted mirrors and they aren’t the best. They are low and often I just see my elbows as you mentioned. And you have a large blind spot on each side even with the mirrors well adjusted. My clutch and brake lever assemblies still have the mirror bosses cast into them, so I bought a set of auxiliary stalk mirrors that are convex for a wide field of view. They aren’t good for seeing things far behind as they make things too small, but I adjust them to see well to the side and it pretty much eliminates my blind spots. I can see cars beside me up until they are well within my normal peripheral vision. I don’t use them much on two-lane roads, but on the interstates they are fantastic for preparation for lane changes. If your bike has fairing mounted mirrors and the handlebars will accommodate the traditional stalk mirrors, I highly recommend you consider convex auxiliary mirrors. And unlike adding blind spot stick-on mirrors, auxiliary mirrors don’t reduce the usefulness of your primary mirrors.
Praise the Lord for his protection! I found out the hard way that watching what’s coming up behind you is very important. I was stop alongside another car at a red light there was a service road to my right and a turning lane I could hear a firetruck coming from around the corner on the cross street as the firetruck got to the intersection it stopped all the sudden at that time I did not realize what was going on but the fire truck saw a van coming up behind me going about 45 to 50 miles an hour the van did not see me stopped at the last second he swerved into the turning lane and sped by me running the red light and missing me by only inches. The van stopped and the guy was pretty shaken up because he didn’t notice the red light or me sitting there.
Great information. Mine, and my wife's, I have adjusted outward and down so you see the lane. I I can glance and see if a vehicle or a squirrel is sneaking up on me. I would rather move MY head to see the full field in the mirror but I never change a lane without turning my head. I have installed on both of our Harleys, the Harley live to ride large rectangular mirrors which are designed to give you a full field. Thanks Kevin, see you on the road, Sniper
Nicely done, Kevin. I lost that elbow view in the mirrors by looking below the arm....mirrors mounted just below the top of fork tube-mounted clip-ons. The mirrors had short arms, with a ball joint mount to a 3” or 4” round mirror. The mirrors were scavenged no doubt from a MAS junkyard in order to meet registration requirements at the time. They were very effective mirrors, slightly tinted to reduce blue glare. 🙄
Another great video. I use stem extenders and blind spot mirrors on my bikes. I do a lot or motorway (freeway) riding and find them a great asset We call it a life saver over here in the UK. Keep up the great work.
When I was learning to ride in a motorcycle school in the UK they called smaller head turns shoulder checks. And the lifesaver is a bigger one which is normally used before turning or before a U-turn. :)
Another useful video Kevin with some practical tips. Sometimes mirrors can move due to the wind loading on them at speed. Whenever I go out I always adjust my mirrors while stopped at the first red light I encounter. That way, you get a realistic picture of where the mirrors should be in relation to cars behind you and in adjacent lanes, as opposed to a little more guess work while parked in the driveway, or in my case, basement car park.
The mirrors on my Suzuki Bandit (GSF1200s) are decently sized, mounted on the 1/2 fairing pretty high up, & I feel they're set reasonably wide as well. Even with that, I put blind-spot mirrors on the outboard, bottom corners of BOTH L&R mirrors. The tips of my elbows are on the inboard edge of the std. mirrors. So, if I want a good look directly behind me I tuck in the elbow & cock my head just a bit. Nothing beats having your head on swivel. It always seems like I'm "dancing around" while out riding, I never seem to be able to stop shifting around to get a good look at. . . well, everything. I was taught to constantly be "scanning" everywhere. . . between the front, sides, mirrors. . . everywhere. No surprises for me, thank you. My next addition was actually going to be new mirrors. . . same size & basic shape, but with integrated LED markers/turn signals. Visibility, visibility, visibility.
Great video on the importance of mirror adjustment. The only comment I have is that it depends on the type of bike you ride as to how you adjust your mirrors. I agree that on a Sport Bike that the mirrors should be adjusted to see a little of each elbow but on a Harley Davidson Sportster or Softtail, the owners manual states to adjust the mirrors to see a little of each shoulder. The objective is to adjust your mirrors to have the most rear visibility as possible and to do the head check.
I learned to ride Calif. freeways before lane splitting was allowed by law. Luckily I had the opportunity to take the CHP Motorcycle safety course when it had just begun, well before lane splitting had come into vogue. I had moved out of state for a couple years, then back again. I didn't ride for about five years. Then bought a Honda 750. By this time (most) CA drivers expected motorcyclist to split. I thought the whole idea was crazy. Until the first time traffic was coming to a crawl on the 91. I slowed along with the cars, keeping a close eye on the mirrors. The car behind me had 'expected' me to split the lane. He helped me make the decision quick, fast and in a hurry as he was skidding right up to my fender. I became a lane splitter! As the car behind me hit the car stopped in front of me. Keep an eye on the mirrors ALWAYS!
Another wonderful video! Depending on the bike I like to favor the left mirror out a little more than the right to allow me to better see overtaking vehicles on my left. Moving to the right I'm usually the one doing the overtaking. Headcheck always! I even do it in my car now.
I keep getting guff from other riders my age for “riding like a boomer” because I ride an old Harley and I’m the one who’s always harping on about safe riding tips (that I usually got from your videos, which are frequently recommended) but I don’t care. People can tell me I’m a boomer in a 29 year old body all they want, I’m riding safely and developing good habits that will follow me for the rest of my life on two wheels. Thanks!
Great video Kevin as always. Once, I changed mirrors to some cool looking ones and I couldn't see very well with them. I changed them back to to factory ones. Live and learn. I think for the people that are too broad for the factory mirrors, you can buy extensions. Thanks again for your tips.
I use a trick that NASCAR drivers use. I adjust my mirrors so that I can see the back part of the cars on the sides of me in the mirrors and the front of the cars in the corner of my eyes. This eliminates blind spots and the need to 'head check' before a lane change.
Another great tip Kevin! 👍 Romy here from the Philippines! i guess my mirrors are adjusted correctly. Better yet, since i have a California driver's license, it's a habit for me to do a head-check when a change lanes! Glad I'm doing it correctly. 👍
Something must have changed. When I was in the Philippines (in '79-'80) I never saw a motorcycle even use a lane! Sidewalks, Alys, even Staircase... Good on ya Romy, Be safe!
An additional point to emphasis is the use of hand signals. As you mention, when preparing to slow down or change lanes, check behind you and your blind spots and if you see a vehicle, use your hand signals to help in getting the drivers attention.
Using the horn in combination with the International Symbol Of Friendship often gets their attention, but maybe not in a positive way. :) All joking aside, I agree, people respond better to movement. That's why I'll sometimes weave a little in the lane and also why I have an LED tail/brake light that has a circuit in the "bulb" that will flashes 3x3 times before staying lit continuously when engaging the brakes. It works well and in my unscientific analysis it seems to have improved driver behaviour behind me.
I'm surprised you didn't mention bar-end mirrors. I find them to be far more practical than most stock mirrors because they sit further out, which allows you to see less of your elbows and more of the traffic around you. That's not to say that all bar-end mirrors are created equal; you still need to make sure that the set you're buying isn't garbage, and I prefer the ones that have risers built into them so that they sit about four inches higher than your handlebars. Another option is to get ones with built-in blinkers, which is added visibility.
Nothing wrong with that. Cars have blind spots too. Checking over your shoulder before you manoeuvre can save a life regardless of the vehicle your driving.
Video on the pros/cons of replacing factory lights with led/hid, adding lighted accesories. Or one on weight distribution with loaded saddlebags, tank bags or loading up duffelbags on the sissy bar for long trips?
I think you should start a big discussion in the US regarding the lane splitting. That last situation you described, while you were waiting at the red light - you don't need to worry about it if you are infront of all the stopped cars and these behind you get hit by a distracted driver. As you say - prevention and paying attetion is everithing, but why not have more security on the junction?
Dankie/ Merci/ Thank you MCrider for the video. I was looking for how to alter or set the timing on a gomoto. But I stumble on your video. Bike and road accidents are very close to one another. I pray when I got an the bike so that motorcar driver will SEE me. And then YOU have to think what will the motorcar diver do.. And when i see a TAXI I pray twice and get of the road or an informal settlement. I or you (well you can, I can't by virtue of my country) can plan the road I will going to travel. So I don't go on roads near informal settlement.
Yup another great subject. But, there is one more way to remove blind spots and it's called REEVU helmet. I had a few issues with the head-check, in that when ya turn to look back you no longer can see forward where the bike is still moving fast. When I became aware of this helmet technology it was a no-brainer for me to get one and give it a try. It works absolutely perfectly. If you drive a car and use a rear view mirror it is exactly the same as that. No longer do you need to turn your head to the side and lose forward visibility, you just need to look up slightly turn your head to the left and the right a couple of degrees looking in the mirror gives you a full rear view behind you and both lanes on either side while your peripheral vision is still giving you forward visibility in case there is a road hazard or a car coming to an abrupt slow down or stop in front of you. With this helmet on I completely forget about mirrors on the bike. I totally disagree with the speaker in the a video on the Rev Zilla site in that it takes weeks to become accustomed to it. I put it on I went for a ride once and I was completely accustomed to it. It was like turning the lights on in a dark room compared to other helmets. In addition to the rear viewing enhancement I found my helmet to be lighter and more comfortable to wear as well as more quiet from air noise than my showy and HGC helmets that were more money than this one. I guess you can tell by now that I love this helmet. Especially riding in traffic, it allows me to keep seeing forward to prevent me from being the guy that runs into something. www.revzilla.com/motorcycle/reevu-msx1-rear-view-helmet This is available from shops worldwide. Before they were imported into the North American Market I found one available in Australia and had it shipped over to Canada. That's how much I wanted to try this helmet and I was certainly not disappointed in any manner at all. The technology in the helmet is a simple mirror system with no batteries or cameras or any other kind of complicated technology that requires power or battery or recharging Etc. just put it on and go.
My husband had a senior citizen rear-end him. He was riding a Honda Shadow 1100 Ace Tourer with hard bags and it was the middle of the afternoon. Funny thing, both he and the car behind had been stopped at a red light. The light turned green and the lady plowed right into him before he could even get on the throttle. She had been behind him the whole time and just forgot he was in front of her, so when the light turned, she just drove right into him hard. He flipped off, and she broke his saddlebag, bent his fender and his tail lights. He was a bit sore and couldn't figure out initially what had happened. It took him a minute to realize what happened and why he was on the ground. Ended up a bit sore and had to get the bike repaired, but no major injuries. This could happen anytime. I got rear ended in my car while sitting in a drive through. Minding my own business, the elderly lady behind me mistook the gas for the break and rammed into me. Had I been on the bike, I would have been severely injured. She hit so hard that the hex bolts holding her license plate on actually punched holes in the bumper of my Honda Accord.
IMy right mirror is out more pointing at my blind spot. This is because I can't turn my head to the right as much because my hand is on the throttle. Also on most highways, the entrance ramp is to the right. The left mirror I have pointed more straight back like you describe. I can look over my left shoulder much better because I can drop my left hand and turn my head and even my body to the left much farther when I look.
My KTM came with the best visibility of any OEM mirrors I’ve had, but as I started to go offroad more I wasn’t sure how durable they’d be. Double Take mirrors make an almost identical shape, so I use them with RAM mounts. I can get them in perfect positions, and if they’re knocked by a branch they won’t break.
I learned about mirrors on one of my older bikes. I bought a pair with eagles that I thought were so cool. But as I rode down the highway, the mirrors were hard to see because they vibrated so much. Lesson learned.
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My spinal fusion prevents headchecks so good convex mirrors is a MUST!
I've worked in the Automotive Repair Industry for twenty three years. Most all car and truck drivers have half of their vehicle in their rearview mirrors.
My rule of thumb both for cars, trucks and motorcycles is, you don't need to see your vehicle in your mirrors, you know it's there. You need to see others around you. Move those mirrors out to a position where the rear most edge of your vehicle or in the case of your two wheel vehicle, your elbows, so you can see the largest landscape behind you,
of all others around you. Great video brother. Keep up the good information.
What I do with my car side mirrors is move them out until they reach the end of their travel. Then, move them back in slightly, so they are not jammed hard over. This, for me, is the 'Optimal' mirror position. With the side mirrors in this position, I can track another automobile (motorcycles not so much) from the rear, to the side, then off in front, without loosing sight of it... No Blind Spots people. If you loose sight of another automobile as it passes you, then your mirrors are adjusted Incorrectly.
Motorcycles are a smaller vehicle... and we cannot track them (visually) all the way around our cars... However, if you are scanning your mirrors every few seconds like the experts suggest, then you will 'know' a motorcycle is approaching from the rear. When it goes out of sight as it passes, it is Beside you. You don't need to be able to see it, to know it's there.
@@Ducati_Dude that's counter intuitive, but i'm driving a pickup that have a trunk top
and my side mirrors are used same at motorcycle one to see the rear too
Yes, this is very common. People want to have their vehicle in their side view mirrors as a reference, but it turns out that you get used to it either way. As a NASA instructor once told me, your side mirrors are supposed to be aimed at your blindspot such that someone walking from the LHS of the vehicle to the RHS of the vehicle should be visible in at least 1 mirror at all times. Switching to that style has made my confidence in what vehicles are around me skyrocket
Agreed
I am a 48 year veteran long haul driver, and part time instructor. I have been saying this for years! You do not need to see your vehicle in your mirrors. You know it's there! You need to see cars, and bicycles etc. If I want to see my nice shiny paint, I just turn my head. And then I go back to looking at traffic. That is what those mirrors are supposed to be for. Another thing. You do NOT need to see any sky in any mirror. The top should be about at the horizon. There's never a need to look at birds, planes, or sky. Do your bird watching some other time. I have a You Tube video on this stuff.
Thank you for these videos. I've been riding for 3 years and your tips not only help but they keep teaching me important things like the fact that there's still a lot more to learn. I will add that I use two tick marks made with a sharpie(silver on black mirror arms). One for the vertical plane and one for the horizontal plane. I add it to my pre ride check because things get moved. Bumped in the garage or in the parking lot from curious people. If nothing else it adds the peace of mind that I know the mirrors are where they are supposed to be. Then you get the one or two times where you have to tweak them back into place. But better to know ahead of time instead of finding out on the road that your mirrors are off.
Excellent tip there! Thank you. When you live where nothing is flat or level where you ride, it's hard to tell if the mirrors are set okay. Next ride, I'll go somewhere flat and put index marks on both mirrors.
Excellent tip. As I'm a lazy guy, I can think of using the shape of the mirrors as guide, for instance, the elbow should match with the corner or something like that.
dont forget the mirrors are closer than the objects in them.. this guy is the real deal. I never fail to learn something when I watch his videos and I've been riding 50 years...
Whilst you are obviously an experienced rider, I myself have now been riding for more years than I care to think about (clue my first bike was a Yamaha FS1E moped). No but seriously I hope you don't mind me saying whilst you mention "positioning the mirror to see the points of the elbows" which is absolutely correct, the positioning of the mirror arm is also relevant to equation in order to gain the maximum scope, and in fact I myself have only just found this out but, the arm should be 90 degrees to the carriage way (sorry if that's a bit English I guess a lot of people would say "lane") . Probably a better way of putting it is 90 degrees to the straight front wheel. Following that the correct alignment of the mirror body to catch those elbows as you have already spoken so clearly on. Once again hope you don't mind me adding this. Respect brothers and sisters.
Kevin, my name is Joe Murdock. I have listened to many of your educational videos on U Tube and have learned a lot from you, THANK YOU VERY MUCH!! In recent weeks I was involved in a side swipe with a deer. It did not survive. It broke both bones in my left leg just above the ankle. After impact the H-D Sturgis went into a bad wobble. I got it under control and got it stoped and on kickstand without anymore drama! But what I really believe is that the Lord saved my bacon! I have been riding 35 plus years. I am on the mend.
Kevin, just watched your "eye" video...thanks for your honesty. I'm an "older" guy (60) that ridden several years ago but now feels the calling to get back into the sport. Thus the purchase of a 2009 BMW R1200GS. Joined your channel and am humbly watching and looking for ways to make myself a better rider. Wanted to thank you for your offerings and service. I'm a retired CSM USA (22 years, 4 months 19 days). Looking forward to getting on the road with your help. See you out there! Brian
I'm a bit wider than normal guy (I'm easilly 50% wider than my own brother) at the shoulders and ride a quite narrow/urban motorcycle, with a relativelly narrow handlebars. Never got happy with my visibility no matter what (even got a bigger pair of mirrors). But never ocurred me that extensors were a thing! Just got a pair after seeing this video and it pretty much improved my field of view enormouslly! Thanks Kevin!
I'm a big guy on a 2013 Honda CB500x. I recently installed Moto Werks extenders. Nicely machined and instead of admiring my jacket, I can see the road behind me. Now I'm thinking of adding little blind spot mirrors on the inside of the bike's mirrors to get more visibility there.
I have small ones on my mirrors I bought from cycle gear, I like them
I have been spooked good couple of times, by doing the head check, before changing lanes. At the merging points and multi level intersections , it is easy for cars to "sneak up" in to the blind spots. And when you see something, you do not expect to see there, it gives you a brief fright.
Better than a big long fright! That's what I think on those situations. Keep riding safely man and enjoy the he journey! VV!
yeah, happens often, at highway speed, some cars overpass you without even you seeing them approaching
not talking about motorcycles in slow traffic
I just want to thank you for making these videos. I've been watching for the last year since I became a rider and not a passenger. You have taught me a lot and I will continue to keep watching. Oh, and thank you so much for the tire video I just and I mean I just got new tires, it's winter here so I have not ridden on them and the sales person told me 500 miles before they were not slick anymore. Your video made me feel a lot more comfortable knowing I don't have to be worried for that long of a time period. Thanks again.
Unfortunately, I was rear ended. I was coming to an intersection where I was going to make a right turn. There were two people on bicycles going the same was as me and I could tell that we would be getting to the intersection at the same time. Because of that, I turned on my turn signal and braked to a stop so that I could give them the right of way before turning. I checked my mirror and saw that there was a car a couple of hundred feet behind me. I had to wait for the second bicycle to get past me and my mistake was paying more attention to her and not enouigh to the car behind me. The bicycle past me and, just as I was going to release the clutch, I heard a sound behind me. Before I could check my mirror again, the car hit me. The driver hadn't even braked. My Ultra Classic an I went flying into the intersection and I tried to keep it upright but lost the battle. After the two people who were riding the bicycles helped me up from the ground, the other driver came up to me and asked why I stopped. I told him that I was yielding the right of way to the people on bicycles and he had a confused look on his face. Apparently, he never saw the two people and did not see me until a split second before he hit me. I suspect that he was on his cell phone but I had no proof. My bike was totaled (over $15,000 in damage) and I had a nasty whiplash and a minor concussion. The neck injury kept me from riding for a year. Now I have installed an LED taillight to be more visible. I wanted to install a strobe module to flash the lights but that is not legal here in Wisconsin. Now, I am really paranoid about people behind me. I am just thankful that I was wearing a helmet because it did smack the concrete real hard when I went down.
So if bozo is staring at a cell phone so hard that he didn't see you AND two bicyclists AND your flashing blinker AND your brake lights what good are brighter lights that he isn't even looking at? You could have a Pink Floyd laser show going on back there and he would still be staring at the phone trying to read that text or post that picture.
I gave you a thumbs up for posting this. Sorry for the loss of your Ulta! Your experience gives me just that much more ammo, to the reasoning of installing fillers on my Ultra!
90+% likelihood it was a cell phone.
@@derekhunter5040- I agree that for some people, nothing would help. But maybe, just maybe, the next person would.
The Chosen One please pass this on. The other person in an accident if suspected of being on a phone you have the right to request the phone records of the driver who hit you. The courts are a wonderful place for this to happen. It will add to the list of charges and add to the amount you can sue for.
When I’m slowing down or coming to a stop I’ve already checked my mirrors and I squeeze my brake lever a few times to alert those behind me that I’m stopping or slowing down. If I’m already stopped at a light with no one behind at the present but I see a vehicle come up I again squeeze my brake lever a couple times just for more visual for the approaching vehicle. I have my distance back from the vehicle in front of me and have hopefully a good escape plan. Enjoy all your videos. I’m always learning. Thanks!
I tend to turn my left mirror out a little more and keep my right a little more straight behind. Head check is always a priority for sure on both sides!
That what I've been doing for quite some time. My left mirror shows more of the lane to my left ( good for getting on freeways and for moving left) with almost nothing directly behind but my right is just the opposite with a good view behind me with a slightly bigger blind spot that 's easy to cover with a head check.
This chap knows his stuff , I enjoy watching his videos
You are right on the mark on this one. There's nothing more important when changing lanes than a head check and checking the mirrors when stopping. One thing you should mention, though it doesn't involve mirrors, it is part of stopping is knuckles up. You should always have your wrists in position so your knuckles are pointed up on your throttle hand. That way, if you get rear ended, you automatically close the throttle. Having your knuckles forward will open the throttle if you get hit.
I' ve just start riding 1 year ago, and doing head check actually saved me a couple times.
We call it a head check in New Zealand because that is fundamentally what it is. Another thing we try to teach on any kind of turn or lane change is to, (1) Check your mirrors. (2) Turn your indicator on for the direction you are turning, before you reach your turn point (3) Head check to make sure that your wheel track is free of obstruction and then move over. A lot of people will do these orders of operation differently, but the main goal is to ensure that your right of way is not obstructed before you move. A side note is that these are generally performed after the last possible turning point (road, intersection, whatever). It's not always possible as some roads are bunched up, or they might have a unique layout.. But the general idea remains the same.
Love your educational stuff.
Getting back to riding after 30-ish years and forgot how calming (once the silly jitters go away) it is to be on a powerful bike.
I bought the 2008 Honda VTX 1800 recently (with only 3000 miles on it) but frankly, after 30 plus years?
I was a bit stressed out. Thank goodness the biker community is so friendly and helpful.
Your channel has helped me regain my confidence once again.
Thanks for all you do!
In the UK we say life saver. Look forward to your weekly blogs. Thanks Kevin
Great vids, Kevin!!! I rode just a bit as a youth, then didn't ride for over 50 years. Got into dual sport, mostly off-road, about 7 years ago (I am not 70). Your vids are all quite professional, very practical and always informative. Thanks loads for the well-done, well-illustrated vids you post. They are especially helpful for those of us who got into the game late. (Son-in-law and I just rode most of the Colorado section of the Trans-American Trail - Sept. 2018. One pot-head nearly took me out in a very small town, but no contact!) Thanks again for your time and expertise! - Ray, in Colorado (Durango area).
Harley D used to have a great mirror that had a blind spot mirror built into it. I have a 2018 Gold Wing and one of the surprises was how good the mirrors are ! I adjust them so I can see my little finger on each hand .
Good video, new rider here. First thing I did on my vstrom 650 was get mirror extenders. 1) My visibility is way better, 2 and unexpected) the wind buffeting was hugely improved / reduced
Love the videos mate, here in Australia we have the Learner test, which is a fully closed off course on small bikes with an instructor or two, they teach us to show the elbow or the middle or around the upper arm which is great, i have never forgotten it and am always re-adjusting depending on my some what lazy form sitting on my GS500 and ours is also a head check or blind spot check, Just some info from another country :)
Also hint for some newer riders, I have always checked my mirrors every time I think of it, its great for multi lane roads going at average speeds and also gives you a larger knowledge if something happens in front of you, you can change lanes knowing full well that nothing is there(with a quick precheck before changing)
One other way to make sure the blind spot is ckear is to lean forward and look into the mirror, that way you can see your blind spot in the respective mirrors. it works for cars too! This way you are still looking ahead and covering your blind spot..
If you're looking at the mirror then you're not looking ahead. Other than that, yeah this trick works well.
Gotta do a head check. Mirrors won't show you everything.
@MCrider - Motorcycle Training these videos are literally life saving. ive been riding for 1 week now on my Truimph street tripple 660CC and i'm a bit concerned i've been riding and havent watched every single video here. PS i listen to your vids on speed x2 haha.
Better to listen to me at 2X than to ride at 2X. ;)
Great video. I put 2” round adjustable convex mirrors on my new Goldwing. They help a lot. I use them on all of my automobiles to help eliminate blind spots. Most drivers in cars and on bikes adjust side mirrors improperly. They are Blind Spot mirrors and should adjusted as such.
Kevin I set my mirrors up the same way I set them on my four wheel vehicle. That is, I set them to see the lane immediately next to the mirror & such with a slight turn of the head I can see that side of my vehicle & what's in that lane for a few car lengths back. I always check the mirror, turn on my blinker & turn my head to see what's in that lane before changing lanes & never use those convex mirrors because the take away from my view. That setup on my MC also gives me a complete rearview with a slight turn of the head left to right (or, right to left) to see what's going on behind me.
Thanks for the mirror adjustment tips. I adjusted mine the way you advised then marked them with a sharpie line on the back so I can quickly put back where I know I have it adjusted properly.
Skills and strategy’s is where it’s all at. You Sir are a thorough motorbike trainer. As always thank you so very much. Mirrors and head checks are essential.
Great advice! Got better mirrors for my Harley. Got tired of seeing my shoulders and not the vehicles behind me!!!
It seems like a similar concept to cars. I read somewhere years ago (and that I have adhered to) that said to turn your sideview mirrors out enough so that the side of your car is just out of visibility of the mirror in your normal seating position. This is a great video.
Eye movement is key. Also if your carrying a passenger the tail end may squat thereby requiring you to adjust your mirrors.
I agree with everything you are saying. I do appreciate your videos. I prefer my mirrors turned to my shoulders. You kept mentioning elbows. That may be correct, but for my 2004 Suzuki Marauder and my 2003 Kawasaki Voyager XII, I prefer my shoulders. I feel it gives me the best rear view. Elbows just seems too low for me. I would suggest elbow to shoulder. That area will/would work better than just elbow. We are all built differently, as are our bikes. On my Voyager I am low shoulder, or shoulder high on mirrors. On my Marauder i am high shoulder,or shoulder high on mirrors. Just my opinion. Keep up the great work. I would also recommend "ride like a pro" for anyone wanting to improve their skills. Helped me.
I always flilter between the lines of cars at stop lights, so I don't get rear ended, not always legal but would rather have a ticket than become a hood ornament on a Chevy. When changing lanes etc my head is connected to my left thumb , when I turn on the indicators I turn and check blind spot. Enjoy your videos and advice. Cheers Greg
I won't filer where it's not legal because I know, as a cager, we're not expecting a motorcycle to be breaking the law and flying up beside us and they startle us. Guess that's a gamble you're willing to take. If you get made into a red splotch, it's be your fault.
Another great video telling me some things that confirm I'm doing the right thing. Anymore that shoulder check is done without a thought, it's automatic. Also as soon as i let off the gas or tap my brakes, I'm looking behind me. Way too many people on cell phones or not paying attention in general. Gotta be ready for anything!!
I needed this video thanks
Good Stuff as always. Something I do is set one mirror for my forward "high alert" position and set the other mirror for my sit back ample space cushion position. I adapted this from a suggestion for ADV rider where they would set one for standing and one for sitting. I figured if I'm standing off-road, I'm not too concerned with what is behind me.
Thank you,just got OEM mirrors for my hinda ruckus and my perfectionism wouldnt let me test till they are perfect
When it comes to braking, all three of my bikes have flashing brake lights, I have even added extra LED lights. My SpYder's third brakes light is a strobe light. I try to not stop to make a left-hand turn if I'm blocking trafic. When stopped at a light, I keep an eye on the rear view mirror and if i see some one coming I keep cycling my brake lights on and off until I see them slowing down. Another trick I like to do is slowing down way early for the stop and let the vehical behind catch up to me where they need to slow down behind me. I NEVER DRIVE IN THE BLIND SPOT. Ride save you all.
I too often squeeze and release my brakes so my light flashes when i'm the last one stopped in line. And I also often turn my hazards on. Slowing down early is good in my books too.
Thankyou for all of your work will be changing my mirrors today. Have you ever thought that you HAVE save lives all over the blue spinning device.
Yes Sir! Just a little elbow and not too much sky.
Now, lets get those headlamps aimed correctly!
EXACTLY! This morning, driving my "little truck" to work, i spotted a Harley with the same lighting arrangement as mine. I actually told myself out loud "That's terrible for other drivers, I need to fix that!" Then the as that bike passed me I noticed. All that money spent for "Day Lighters LED's and LED signals" not one candle power met the pavement! 100% up in drivers cabs and mirrors. How do we riders expect any respect or space from the cagers, if everything we do is an insult to them? We MUST keep our lights adjusted for our own safety as well as for others!
I like to leave a piece of elbow in the mirror not just for angle of view as said in the video, but also for perspective or depth perception as a reference for objects seen in the mirrors.
Exactly how I have my mirrors. And I pull in my elbows in to see what's behind them too, or open them up and look through the "gap". Frequent mirror checks, scanning and head checks before moving lanes etc. In NZ, we are taught MILO's for lane changing....Mirror, Indicator, Look (head check) move Over.
Good video. If you have someone to assist you, it´s a good excercise to check out how big the blind spot actually is. Let them move from side to side and mark the spots where they "vanish" from your mirrors. That will increase motivation to look over your shoulder prior to any lateral movement.
I included checking the mirrors in my preride routine. They are supposed to show a bit of my shoulders at the inner rim. I also scan my mirrors frequently with eye movement. That greatly increases situational awareness.
I've been watching your vids since i atarted riding a bit over a yr ago. Your vids are very practical and useful. Thanks for your time to help use all ride safer. I used to ride with a normal full face helmet but I've hated that my parifial vision was always impeded. So i searched for a better helmet and i came across the company Nolan that makes the N44evo helmet and it was a gane changer in vision for me and helps me be a better and safer rider.
I adjust mirrors so I can see a little of my shoulder,not elbow. Great video Kevin,thanks.
Just when I think there can’t possibly be another topic for Kevin to address, bam, he cracks another one out of the park!! But now I’m sure he has covered everything, right??
This is why I love this channel, always providing us with great knowledge. Some other channels the guys are busy trying to sell you their merch or have you signed up for their patron. Thanks
Here is a suggestion. I have a sport cruiser. I added on CRG Blindsight bar end mirrors, which although small, have a decently wide range of view. I have them pointed behind me and have the stock mirrors pick up where the CRG’s views ends. The stock mirrors end where my peripheral view begins so they are now used to cover my blind area. I basically have a full 360 view around me without the need to do a head check. I highly recommend this type of setup. I still do a quick look to the side just in case but don’t really need to.
Stock Harley mirrors on a Street Glide with 1" bug eyes. When changing lanes I look to the mirrors first, listen for tire and engine noise, turn head and then proceed to change lanes. Good advise as usual Kevin.
Like it, great advice no one thinks much about. Keep up all your advice and thank you.
Another great video for both new riders and those who’ve been riding for a longer time! 👍
Yes, I bias the adjustment outwards for blind spots because of course I'm moving more than stopped. Also it's easier to use "Body English" to look behind while at a standstill than while underway!
You have helped me understand being in gear at a stop is so important most people I ride with don't do that
Thank you for your ongoing advise, guidance and tips to make us all safer riders.
In addition to adding the convex blind spot mirrors, on some bikes you can add a second set of mirrors. My LT has fairing mounted mirrors and they aren’t the best. They are low and often I just see my elbows as you mentioned. And you have a large blind spot on each side even with the mirrors well adjusted. My clutch and brake lever assemblies still have the mirror bosses cast into them, so I bought a set of auxiliary stalk mirrors that are convex for a wide field of view. They aren’t good for seeing things far behind as they make things too small, but I adjust them to see well to the side and it pretty much eliminates my blind spots. I can see cars beside me up until they are well within my normal peripheral vision. I don’t use them much on two-lane roads, but on the interstates they are fantastic for preparation for lane changes. If your bike has fairing mounted mirrors and the handlebars will accommodate the traditional stalk mirrors, I highly recommend you consider convex auxiliary mirrors. And unlike adding blind spot stick-on mirrors, auxiliary mirrors don’t reduce the usefulness of your primary mirrors.
Praise the Lord for his protection! I found out the hard way that watching what’s coming up behind you is very important. I was stop alongside another car at a red light there was a service road to my right and a turning lane I could hear a firetruck coming from around the corner on the cross street as the firetruck got to the intersection it stopped all the sudden at that time I did not realize what was going on but the fire truck saw a van coming up behind me going about 45 to 50 miles an hour the van did not see me stopped at the last second he swerved into the turning lane and sped by me running the red light and missing me by only inches. The van stopped and the guy was pretty shaken up because he didn’t notice the red light or me sitting there.
Luckily for you, your number wasn't up!
Great information. Mine, and my wife's, I have adjusted outward and down so you see the lane. I I can glance and see if a vehicle or a squirrel is sneaking up on me. I would rather move MY head to see the full field in the mirror but I never change a lane without turning my head. I have installed on both of our Harleys, the Harley live to ride large rectangular mirrors which are designed to give you a full field. Thanks Kevin, see you on the road, Sniper
Nicely done, Kevin. I lost that elbow view in the mirrors by looking below the arm....mirrors mounted just below the top of fork tube-mounted clip-ons. The mirrors had short arms, with a ball joint mount to a 3” or 4” round mirror. The mirrors were scavenged no doubt from a MAS junkyard in order to meet registration requirements at the time. They were very effective mirrors, slightly tinted to reduce blue glare. 🙄
Another great video.
I use stem extenders and blind spot mirrors on my bikes. I do a lot or motorway (freeway) riding and find them a great asset
We call it a life saver over here in the UK.
Keep up the great work.
When I was learning to ride in a motorcycle school in the UK they called smaller head turns shoulder checks. And the lifesaver is a bigger one which is normally used before turning or before a U-turn. :)
Another useful video Kevin with some practical tips. Sometimes mirrors can move due to the wind loading on them at speed. Whenever I go out I always adjust my mirrors while stopped at the first red light I encounter. That way, you get a realistic picture of where the mirrors should be in relation to cars behind you and in adjacent lanes, as opposed to a little more guess work while parked in the driveway, or in my case, basement car park.
Needed this one today. Thank you Kevin.
The mirrors on my Suzuki Bandit (GSF1200s) are decently sized, mounted on the 1/2 fairing pretty high up, & I feel they're set reasonably wide as well. Even with that, I put blind-spot mirrors on the outboard, bottom corners of BOTH L&R mirrors. The tips of my elbows are on the inboard edge of the std. mirrors. So, if I want a good look directly behind me I tuck in the elbow & cock my head just a bit.
Nothing beats having your head on swivel. It always seems like I'm "dancing around" while out riding, I never seem to be able to stop shifting around to get a good look at. . . well, everything. I was taught to constantly be "scanning" everywhere. . . between the front, sides, mirrors. . . everywhere. No surprises for me, thank you.
My next addition was actually going to be new mirrors. . . same size & basic shape, but with integrated LED markers/turn signals. Visibility, visibility, visibility.
Great video on the importance of mirror adjustment. The only comment I have is that it depends on the type of bike you ride as to how you adjust your mirrors. I agree that on a Sport Bike that the mirrors should be adjusted to see a little of each elbow but on a Harley Davidson Sportster or Softtail, the owners manual states to adjust the mirrors to see a little of each shoulder. The objective is to adjust your mirrors to have the most rear visibility as possible and to do the head check.
I learned to ride Calif. freeways before lane splitting was allowed by law. Luckily I had the opportunity to take the CHP Motorcycle safety course when it had just begun, well before lane splitting had come into vogue. I had moved out of state for a couple years, then back again. I didn't ride for about five years. Then bought a Honda 750. By this time (most) CA drivers expected motorcyclist to split. I thought the whole idea was crazy. Until the first time traffic was coming to a crawl on the 91. I slowed along with the cars, keeping a close eye on the mirrors. The car behind me had 'expected' me to split the lane. He helped me make the decision quick, fast and in a hurry as he was skidding right up to my fender. I became a lane splitter! As the car behind me hit the car stopped in front of me. Keep an eye on the mirrors ALWAYS!
Another wonderful video! Depending on the bike I like to favor the left mirror out a little more than the right to allow me to better see overtaking vehicles on my left. Moving to the right I'm usually the one doing the overtaking. Headcheck always! I even do it in my car now.
Great video! I'm a new rider and eagerly soaking up good info!
Another great video! I've only ever heard the term 'shoulder check' here.
Good video. I've actually been rear-ended twice while riding. Both times I was at a Red Stop Light.
Yeah, rear-ended once. Not at a light though. Had to do an emergency stop, and whilst I came to a swift and safe stop, the guy behind me didn't.
Always enjoy learning from your fantastic tips! We call that head check a shoulder check in Hong Kong, or as you said a life saver in the UK.
Kenny I been having problems Getting my Mirrors in the right place . Thank you for this video it really help me out. Have a great and blessed weekend.
I keep getting guff from other riders my age for “riding like a boomer” because I ride an old Harley and I’m the one who’s always harping on about safe riding tips (that I usually got from your videos, which are frequently recommended) but I don’t care.
People can tell me I’m a boomer in a 29 year old body all they want, I’m riding safely and developing good habits that will follow me for the rest of my life on two wheels. Thanks!
Great video Kevin as always. Once, I changed mirrors to some cool looking ones and I couldn't see very well with them. I changed them back to to factory ones. Live and learn. I think for the people that are too broad for the factory mirrors, you can buy extensions. Thanks again for your tips.
Thanks Kevin. You're the king of safety tips! Keep 'em coming.
I use a trick that NASCAR drivers use. I adjust my mirrors so that I can see the back part of the cars on the sides of me in the mirrors and the front of the cars in the corner of my eyes. This eliminates blind spots and the need to 'head check' before a lane change.
Another great tip Kevin! 👍 Romy here from the Philippines! i guess my mirrors are adjusted correctly. Better yet, since i have a California driver's license, it's a habit for me to do a head-check when a change lanes! Glad I'm doing it correctly. 👍
Something must have changed. When I was in the Philippines (in '79-'80) I never saw a motorcycle even use a lane! Sidewalks, Alys, even Staircase... Good on ya Romy, Be safe!
An additional point to emphasis is the use of hand signals. As you mention, when preparing to slow down or change lanes, check behind you and your blind spots and if you see a vehicle, use your hand signals to help in getting the drivers attention.
Using the horn in combination with the International Symbol Of Friendship often gets their attention, but maybe not in a positive way. :)
All joking aside, I agree, people respond better to movement. That's why I'll sometimes weave a little in the lane and also why I have an LED tail/brake light that has a circuit in the "bulb" that will flashes 3x3 times before staying lit continuously when engaging the brakes. It works well and in my unscientific analysis it seems to have improved driver behaviour behind me.
I'm surprised you didn't mention bar-end mirrors. I find them to be far more practical than most stock mirrors because they sit further out, which allows you to see less of your elbows and more of the traffic around you. That's not to say that all bar-end mirrors are created equal; you still need to make sure that the set you're buying isn't garbage, and I prefer the ones that have risers built into them so that they sit about four inches higher than your handlebars. Another option is to get ones with built-in blinkers, which is added visibility.
Thanks heaps. Have had some issues seeing around my mirrors and keep pulling my elbows in. Now have them set up really well thankyou ;)
Glad to know I am not alone. My OEM R1200RT mirrors suck. I find myself doing head checks while driving my car off-season. Muscle memory.
Nothing wrong with that. Cars have blind spots too. Checking over your shoulder before you manoeuvre can save a life regardless of the vehicle your driving.
I am so glad I stumbled across your channel! So much amazing information!
this is the advice im looking for! im having a hard time using head check because of the helmet and the frame of my eye glasses. thanks 😀
Thanks for the vid. I'm going to have a look at some extenders after watching your video 👍
Video on the pros/cons of replacing factory lights with led/hid, adding lighted accesories. Or one on weight distribution with loaded saddlebags, tank bags or loading up duffelbags on the sissy bar for long trips?
Hi Kevin! Many thanks for preparing this very useful video. This is a topic I was expecting you to approach. Regards from Chile!!!
Thanks for the tips I'm new to riding and need all the advice you give. I appreciate the work you do.
I think you should start a big discussion in the US regarding the lane splitting. That last situation you described, while you were waiting at the red light - you don't need to worry about it if you are infront of all the stopped cars and these behind you get hit by a distracted driver. As you say - prevention and paying attetion is everithing, but why not have more security on the junction?
Dankie/ Merci/ Thank you MCrider for the video. I was looking for how to alter or set the timing on a gomoto. But I stumble on your video. Bike and road accidents are very close to one another. I pray when I got an the bike so that motorcar driver will SEE me. And then YOU have to think what will the motorcar diver do.. And when i see a TAXI I pray twice and get of the road or an informal settlement. I or you (well you can, I can't by virtue of my country) can plan the road I will going to travel. So I don't go on roads near informal settlement.
Yup another great subject. But, there is one more way to remove blind spots and it's called REEVU helmet. I had a few issues with the head-check, in that when ya turn to look back you no longer can see forward where the bike is still moving fast. When I became aware of this helmet technology it was a no-brainer for me to get one and give it a try. It works absolutely perfectly. If you drive a car and use a rear view mirror it is exactly the same as that. No longer do you need to turn your head to the side and lose forward visibility, you just need to look up slightly turn your head to the left and the right a couple of degrees looking in the mirror gives you a full rear view behind you and both lanes on either side while your peripheral vision is still giving you forward visibility in case there is a road hazard or a car coming to an abrupt slow down or stop in front of you. With this helmet on I completely forget about mirrors on the bike.
I totally disagree with the speaker in the a video on the Rev Zilla site in that it takes weeks to become accustomed to it. I put it on I went for a ride once and I was completely accustomed to it. It was like turning the lights on in a dark room compared to other helmets. In addition to the rear viewing enhancement I found my helmet to be lighter and more comfortable to wear as well as more quiet from air noise than my showy and HGC helmets that were more money than this one. I guess you can tell by now that I love this helmet.
Especially riding in traffic, it allows me to keep seeing forward to prevent me from being the guy that runs into something.
www.revzilla.com/motorcycle/reevu-msx1-rear-view-helmet
This is available from shops worldwide. Before they were imported into the North American Market I found one available in Australia and had it shipped over to Canada. That's how much I wanted to try this helmet and I was certainly not disappointed in any manner at all. The technology in the helmet is a simple mirror system with no batteries or cameras or any other kind of complicated technology that requires power or battery or recharging Etc. just put it on and go.
My husband had a senior citizen rear-end him. He was riding a Honda Shadow 1100 Ace Tourer with hard bags and it was the middle of the afternoon. Funny thing, both he and the car behind had been stopped at a red light. The light turned green and the lady plowed right into him before he could even get on the throttle. She had been behind him the whole time and just forgot he was in front of her, so when the light turned, she just drove right into him hard. He flipped off, and she broke his saddlebag, bent his fender and his tail lights. He was a bit sore and couldn't figure out initially what had happened. It took him a minute to realize what happened and why he was on the ground. Ended up a bit sore and had to get the bike repaired, but no major injuries. This could happen anytime. I got rear ended in my car while sitting in a drive through. Minding my own business, the elderly lady behind me mistook the gas for the break and rammed into me. Had I been on the bike, I would have been severely injured. She hit so hard that the hex bolts holding her license plate on actually punched holes in the bumper of my Honda Accord.
IMy right mirror is out more pointing at my blind spot. This is because I can't turn my head to the right as much because my hand is on the throttle. Also on most highways, the entrance ramp is to the right. The left mirror I have pointed more straight back like you describe. I can look over my left shoulder much better because I can drop my left hand and turn my head and even my body to the left much farther when I look.
My KTM came with the best visibility of any OEM mirrors I’ve had, but as I started to go offroad more I wasn’t sure how durable they’d be.
Double Take mirrors make an almost identical shape, so I use them with RAM mounts. I can get them in perfect positions, and if they’re knocked by a branch they won’t break.
Great information and certainly life saving.
I gotta say, those stock mirrors on the Road King are the best I've ever used.
In the UK we call it a life saver...and it is appropriately named!
I learned about mirrors on one of my older bikes. I bought a pair with eagles that I thought were so cool. But as I rode down the highway, the mirrors were hard to see because they vibrated so much. Lesson learned.
Mirrors and head-checks, always use both, sound advice as always.
I'm constantly adjusting my mirrors depending on if I'm on an open road with little traffic or in a crowded town or if I have a passenger or not