Polite BikingNov 08 '01 Write an essay on this topic.
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The Bottom Line People who are not familiar with motorcycles often are intimidated by them. Here are some tips to help non-moto-heads to live with us and our bikes.
Since my bike is my only vehicle,I have to take it to work, shopping, and anywhere else I go. This means that a lot of the people I'm associating with don't own or understand motorcycles. Here are some tips I've picked up in helping my clients and other people in the community to get along with my motorcycle. Parking Lots: People worry about your bike scratching their car. It's really a lot more likely that the car will back over your bike, but we are talking perception, not reality. Keep moves smooth and slow, smile a lot, head nods and a pleasant expression go a long way toward making others feel acknowledged. This makes them feel more comfortable that you will respect their property and not scrape your mirrors or saddle bags on their car. People worry about being run over by you. You may know how well you can handle your bike and how much clearance you need. To the non-bike person, that is a big, intimidating, noisy machine which is ready to leap from your control at any moment. Stay well clear of pedestrians. Come to a full stop when pedestrians want to cross in front of you. Smile and motion them to go. DON'T rev it, especially not when they are in front of you! Your friendly polite attitude will go a long way toward automobile drivers having a positive attitude toward bikes. When you are starting the bike, check behind you first. People often will be walking close behind your bike and will be startled, and possibly frightened when it fires up with a horrendous (to them) BROOOOOM! BRUM! BRUM! BRUM!BRUM! and blasts their legs with hot air. Let them clear away. If they are gathered around behind you and chatting, ignoring the fact that you have just loaded your bike, zipped up your leathers, and jumped on board, flashing the brake lights a few times will usually encourage them to move aside. If they are too engrossed to notice that, smiling at the group and saying "excuse me!" has always worked for me. Bikes don't seem to leave as much of a mess as cars, but they certainly get picked on more for it when they do. If I'll be somewhere that is spotlessly maintained, I'll lay a towel under the bike just to catch any little drips - especially if I have just lubricated my cables and chain. Do I really carry a towel around with me? Actually, I've recently learned to do just that - It's good for kneeling on if I have do do something on the bike, I can sit on it if I need to rest by the side of the road, on rainy days I use it to wipe down the tank before gassing up so I don't get water in the fuel, it's nice to have something handy with which to wipe off me or the bike, and I can put it under the bike to catch spare drips. (Have you seen the sticker, "My bike dosen't leak - it marks its territory!") Going into the clients' offices: Some people are really into bikes. Some are not. Those who are, understand if I stride in wearing my leathers and carrying my helmet. Those who are not, do not. Usually, I try to stash the leathers in my saddle bags, comb my hair, and freshen my makeup before going in. But if it is raining, then I will opt to enter the building first. If there is a coat rack, I leave my soggy leathers there. If they are really soggy, I'll leave the towel, carefully folded, under them to catch the drips. If there is no coat rack, I'll fold my leathers and lay them on the towel. After the first couple of times, my clients pretty much ignore the process and just accept it as part of Leilehua. Client paperwork is kept in zipper-baggies. It's a good idea to dry off the baggies BEFORE you open them so the papers don't get wet. Leather gloves are lousy when making client calls on rainy days. They smell bad and stain your hands. I suggest Teknic Aquaslim gloves - waterproof, warm, reflective, and they don't stain. Soggy, stinky, stained hands seriously degrade your professional image. As I learn more, I'll update this. For now, E nihi ka hele, mai ho`opa`a, Hula Rider  |
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