Riding Superstitions

[Laffo IBA#34115]

I have two:

 

My passenger footpegs cannot be deployed when riding solo. I cringe when I discover one or both of them down when riding and secretly wonder why I have not been crushed by a semi. The premise here being that the motorcycle is not configured properly for the mission.

 

The other one is if I attempt to start the bike with the sidestand down I have to turn the key off, hang my head in silent shame for an undetermined amount of time wondering how I've made it this far in life and how I am going to make it home alive while promising not to make anymore mistakes. Then I'll raise the sidestand, start the motorcycle properly and get on with my ride. The premise here is that the ride started off horribly and will only get worse unless I start over.

 

I am not a superstitious person but these mental machinations occur any way.

 

Anybody else want to bare their soul...

[Jake]

I mounted my bike from the right side once - couldn't shake the feeling that I made a Jon & Ponch rookie mistake all day.

 

Left glove goes on first.

 

I admit to eyeballing the passenger footpegs as well before starting trips. I'm still looking for the guy that flipped the right side one down on me that one time...at El Paseo. You know who you are.

 

I won't ride without one form of Old Glory with me, either my USAF Flight Patch, or my RW&B Sliks neck warmer - in my pocket, tank bag - anywhere. Won't ride without the colors. Wierd.

[Lone_RT_rider]

On my left handlebar there is a small red/white/blue wrist thing that little girls make when they are in elementary school. It's there to remind me to try and always keep that extra 10% in reserve. The oldest girl made it for me when she was 10.. She is 16 now and its been there all this time. I feel like it keeps me safe. It wasn't there on Rainy's bike the day I hurt my leg.

 

Shawn

[leikam]

Green motorcycles are unlucky.

[Joel]

I mounted my bike from the right side once - couldn't shake the feeling that I made a Jon & Ponch rookie mistake all day.

 

Left glove goes on first.

Yup, although I didn't realize I was hooked on the 2nd one until I read this. Left boot goes on first too.

 

My first crash resulted in a shiny spot being worn into the back of my right knee pad. When I replace the pads after washing the pants, that pad must go back on the right side.

[notacop]

Are guys for real?? I put the pas-pegs down, somewhere to hang the foots when needing the rear-set thing. Good for highway drone too.

Getting on and off? there ain't no correct side, how far is the bike leaning?

Little bells to ward off the minihoonies? Balderdash! If you run silent you're chances of running over the little bastids is improved.

Y'all need to get on the bike and ride, you're having too much time to think with too little cranium stuffing.

[Dave McReynolds]

I have the same superstition for motorcycle riding or any other risky activity I might engage in, which is never to pass by any penny I might see laying around on the ground, but to stop and pick it up. I guess it started in Vietnam, where it was a common superstition among the Marines there that if you picked up a penny, you wouldn't get shot or blown up on patrol. That was the best luck. Next was not seeing any pennies. Worst was seeing one and not picking it up. That was bad luck. Worked for me ever since!

 

Had my devotion to this superstition tested a while back. In the gym where I work out, someone apparently decided to empty out his pockets of pennies on the locker room floor, not just once, but for days on end. Not wanting all those pennies and thinking the gym floor wasn't all that clean, I was tempted to just let them lie, but I picked them up anyway. No doubt it was amusing for those in the gym not privvy to that particular superstition to watch me do it.

[sebjones906]

I don't have any Superstitions. Having them is unlucky.

[Kinsley]

I always carry my rain gear just to be sure it doesn't

 

One time, I showed up for a ride with Roadscholar and we both left the rain gear at his place. Within 30 minutes we were soaked from what was clear skies when we left and maybe a 20% chance of precip. That incident just made my rule permanent.

 

[TracerBullet]

Years ago I went to a bike blessing with a friend.

The priest blessed the rider and the bike and then gave all the riders a St. Christopher (patron saint of travelers)medal. Since then I have always ridden with the medal on my person.

I have turned around to go back to get the one time I forgot

[Woodie]

Well, I was about to say I don't have any...but Kinsley is right. Never leave home w/o rain gear. Proven, on more than one occasion!

 

Mount from the left, mount from the right (when it's in the garage). I usually start it while it's sitting on the sidestand, then I go and get my helmet/gloves on while it warms up. (<1 min so I don't burn it up! )

[MrHondamatic]

The closest I get to being supestitious is taking rain gear on an all day or longer ride. I figure if I have it with me I'll never use it. But then this is based on a ride with no rain gear when the wife and I got very wet, a fair way from home. The rest of the time I pay attention to the weather forecast and take it with me if the chances are good for a goose drownder.

 

I also only mount from the left, but that's just clumsiness on my part, not superstition.

[boatzo]

Green motorcycles are unlucky.

 

NOT SO !!!

[roadscholar]

Ken, I knew that one day you would show that photo.

 

Only one superstition, when there's a choice the ignition key has to be facing forward, no idea why.

[54pandina]

Just one Quirk... The key on my '03 KRS has to go in a certain way. The one time I almost dropped the bike in a parking lot move I found the key in backwards. IMHO...The very act of thinking how the key goes in makes one concentrate on all other steps for a safe ride

[Firefight911]

When I raced, I would ALWAYS approach the bike, walk around her from the front, to the right side, and around to the left before mounting. I would always talk with her (the bike) while running my gloved hand on her to let her know we were going into battle.

 

Yep, I'm weird!!

 

Passenger pegs must be up when solo. Freaks me out whenever I see one down after riding.

 

New leathers ALWAYS get tossed on the ground before wearing them and the race bike would ALWAYS get laid on its side. Just wanted to let them know that it was a cold, hard, cruel ground and that they should do everything possible to stay away from it.

[Matts_12GS]

I have a "challenge coin" given to me by my friend Mike when he did his last deployment in the Persian Gulf. I babysat his Boxer cup replika and his truck, and now his Harley. I'll give it back to him when he gets back to the states and retires.

[Ken H.]

I don't know if it's quite a superstition, more like a 'self-check', but I'll allow myself one slip-up when getting ready to ride, say forgetting to close the top box, or getting on the bike without my gloves or something. But two of them; like having to go back inside to get my gloves then trying to start the bike with the side stand still down, and I consider that a sign I'm not mentally in the game to ride and should take the cage.

[njboy]

I don't have any riding rituals except that I do think about my last accident before I ride. Three things went wrong that day. Cold tires, in a hurry (speeding), and poor road conditions. If you read about accidents either road or aviation many of these occur due to more than one failure in either equipment and/or pilot/driver/rider judgment. I guess these rituals that we have allow us to take pause and reflect before we ride.

[kcscout]

Before riding. Mounted, motor running - 5 second pause, deep breath just to do a self check - "Am I ready for this?" Clutch, in-gear, go.

 

I also always - more out of habit - look over my right shoulder. Even pulling out of my garage, I've noticed that I still check.

[timmr]

On my left handlebar there is a small red/white/blue wrist thing that little girls make when they are in elementary school. It's there to remind me to try and always keep that extra 10% in reserve. The oldest girl made it for me when she was 10.. She is 16 now and

its been there all this time. I feel like it keeps me safe. It wasn't there on Rainy's bike the day I hurt my leg.

Shawn

 

My daughter put a couple of pics of my grandkids in a pocket of the tank bag. Didn't tell me about it. We've never talked about it, but every time she gets some new pics of the kids, I find a new one in that pocket.

I suppose it's her way of telling me to ride safe, and I won't go on a ride without those pics.

[baggerchris]

Left glove before right, always. Green Harleys are not good, but Boston Green RT's are lusted after. I will not ride without boots, ever. If my sixth sense tells me not to ride, I heed it. I don't feel good about riding on the right side of a lane. I will not ride without gloves. If an old Navajo woman (or any old woman, or Indian) comes to the side of the road and tells me to go home, next time I will.