3 Tips For Touring On A Motorcycle For The First Time

When traveling, it’s not uncommon to want to try something new. So if you’ve driven a motorcycle before but are wanting to try to take it on the road during your journey, there are a few things you should know in order to prepare for this adventure, especially if you’ll be driving a touring motorcycle. All motorcycles are different and they may work in alternative ways than what you’re used to. In turn, if you don’t take the relevant safety measures, you could find yourself in an accident with another road user, which could have potentially fatal consequences where you’d need to contact a law firm similar to Valiente Mott (https://valientemott.com/practice-areas/motorcycle-accidents/) to see if you can make a claim for compensation. This money would help with any bills you’d be required to pay as a result of your accident. But wouldn’t it be better for everyone if you knew how to stay safe whilst riding a touring motorcycle?

So to ensure that you’re able to have a memorable experience and remain safe while on the road, here are three tips for touring on a motorcycle for the first time.

Deck Yourself Out With Your Gear

If you’ve just taken a motorcycle to cruise around town, you may not have been wearing all the protective gear that’s recommended for longer rides. But before you hit the open road on a touring motorcycle, MotorcyclistLifestyle.com suggests that you completely deck yourself out with the right protective gear. In the event that you get in an accident with the motorcycle, you’ll want to have as much as possible between your body and the road. This gear should include things like a helmet, motorcycle jacket, gloves, boots, and riding pants. And everytime you get on your touring bike, make sure you have all this gear on properly and that it fits you correctly.

Become Familiar With All The Controls

Whenever you’re riding a new motorcycle for the first time, it’s always a good idea to make sure you’re completely comfortable with the set up before you really take it out on the road. Especially with a touring motorcycle, which is likely bigger than any other motorcycle you’ve driven before, you should take some time to make yourself familiar with all of the controls. According to Jesse Kiser, a contributor to RideApart.com, by making all the necessary adjustments to the controls before you even move onto the road, you’ll prevent yourself from having issues with them while driving and becoming too distracted, putting yourself and others around you on the road in danger.

Give Yourself Ample Time and Space

As was mentioned above, touring motorcycles are bigger and heavier than most other types of motorcycles. Because of this, the way you handle this machine will be a little different than how you can handle other bikes. According to John L. Stein, a contributor to Cycle World, you should compensate for these differences by giving yourself more time to stop, turning in smooth arcs, and doing your best to keep your center of gravity as low as possible. By doing these things, you’ll be giving yourself the time and space you need to safely maneuver this motorcycle.

If you’ll be traveling on a touring motorcycle for the first time, consider using the tips mentioned above to help you stay safe out there.