You put your thumb where?!?

[Fubar]

I'm torn as to where to keep my left thumb in preparation for the inevitably necessary warning; light switch for flashing high beams or horn button for the obvious reason.

In daylight the horn seems the better choice, of course, but it is omni-directional. At night, for that reason especially, it seems less useful to me.

At times, especially on divided urban/suburban roadways the high beam seems a viable choice, even during sun-lit hours due to its directional nature and obvious source but it requires the intended recipient(s) to be looking at you (less an issue at night, but a consideration).

 

So what say you all? Where do you stick your thumb and why?

[russell_bynum]

My thumb goes under the grip because that gives me the best control of the motorcycle.

 

I don't use passive measures like horns or flashing lights in emergency situations...I prefer active measures (getting the hell out of the way) and I'll save the horn and the lights for after the situation has passed.

[JerryMather]

So what say you all? Where do you stick your thumb and why?

 

I have mine around the grips until it's needed to make a signal of some sort. This allows me to grip the handlebars correctly & maintaining steering control.

 

I already have one or two fingers covering my brake lever and sometimes the clutch lever. My thumb is only used when needed and covering the grip most of the time.

[Jake]

I sounded my horn as a test once, giggled, and vowed never to use it again. I'm in Camp Bynum on this one: ride the bike first. After that, signals or gestures are reactionary, not preventative.

[tallman]

I use it to operate my cell phone menus and text.

[Firefight911]

Horn? What's a horn?

 

Ride the bike, not the horn or lights. If you are "anticipating" a situation where the horn/lights may be used then you should just maneuver the bike in such a way as to not need them.

 

I have used my horn to ask my wife to open the garage door when I forget my door opener.

[russell_bynum]

I have used my horn to ask my wife to open the garage door when I forget my door opener.

 

I use the horn to alert the convertible full of cute girls in front of me that I just tried to cancel my turn signal.

[russell_bynum]

Ride the bike, not the horn or lights.

 

This goes beyond horn and lights. People talk about looking ahead and thinking about what you'd do if this guy moved over or that guy braked...or whatever.

 

My strategy...instead of thinking about what I'd do if one of those things happen, I just go ahead and do it. That way if it does happen, I'm not there anymore and there's nothing for me to do.

 

It's a completely different way of thinking about riding. Most people (myself included for a long time) ride like they drive. In a car, you really don't have the option to drive offensively like that because you don't have the manuverability and you're too big to fit through most of the gaps. The flipside is you've got a couple tons of specially-designed crumple zones and airbags around you, so you can afford to be a bit more passive. On the bike, you've basically go no protection. But you've got manuverability and a great size advantage (very few drivers are comfortable driving so close to other drivers that a bike can't fit through. Even a big bike.)

 

Use those strengths to your advantage...they're all you have.

 

As for your horn or lights...forget it. Talk to firefighters...people pull out in front of firetrucks all the time. If they can't see/hear a 12-ton bright red fire truck with emergency lights flashing, siren blaring, and honking that horn that makes the guy three blocks away wet the bed, there's nothing you can do on your pathetic little motorcycle.

 

Best case, the horn and lights are just there to tell someone that they just did something stupid that you had to deal with. But most likely, if you were being proactive, you won't be there to honk/flash lights anyway.

[Glenn Reed]

 

I use the horn to alert the convertible full of cute girls in front of me that I just tried to cancel my turn signal.

 

BTDT

[Matts_12GS]

 

I use the horn to alert the convertible full of cute girls in front of me that I just tried to cancel my turn signal.

 

BTDT

 

the "angry" blast of left turn signal...

 

I don't know what you're talking about.

 

[TyTass]

Russell,

 

I read you stating this same thing back when I first joined the board. It immediately made sense to me. And since then I have found that the throttle FAR more effective at making situtations disappear ... moving from one area of space to the next ... quickly and with intent. Everytime I've found myself meandering or sauntering along with traffic, I've invariably found myself in trouble and cursing someone else when I should have cursed myself.

 

I know I have a whole lot more to learn, but thank you for that.

[Firefight911]

Ride the bike, not the horn or lights.

 

This goes beyond horn and lights. People talk about looking ahead and thinking about what you'd do if this guy moved over or that guy braked...or whatever.

 

My strategy...instead of thinking about what I'd do if one of those things happen, I just go ahead and do it. That way if it does happen, I'm not there anymore and there's nothing for me to do.

 

It's a completely different way of thinking about riding. Most people (myself included for a long time) ride like they drive. In a car, you really don't have the option to drive offensively like that because you don't have the manuverability and you're too big to fit through most of the gaps. The flipside is you've got a couple tons of specially-designed crumple zones and airbags around you, so you can afford to be a bit more passive. On the bike, you've basically go no protection. But you've got manuverability and a great size advantage (very few drivers are comfortable driving so close to other drivers that a bike can't fit through. Even a big bike.)

 

Use those strengths to your advantage...they're all you have.

 

As for your horn or lights...forget it. Talk to firefighters...people pull out in front of firetrucks all the time. If they can't see/hear a 12-ton bright red fire truck with emergency lights flashing, siren blaring, and honking that horn that makes the guy three blocks away wet the bed, there's nothing you can do on your pathetic little motorcycle.

 

Best case, the horn and lights are just there to tell someone that they just did something stupid that you had to deal with. But most likely, if you were being proactive, you won't be there to honk/flash lights anyway.

 

Yup, and oh, hey, BTW, I am a firefighter. You all may THINK you know or whatever about lights and sirens. It is an absolute fact; people do NOT see/hear/respond/react to us going code 3. End of story! You can waste money on deer alert whistles or Stebels or break your eardrum2000s. Worthless, the lot.

 

Do as Russell wrote, that will fix it.

 

Oh, and the horn works EVERY time for the turn signal cancel with those girls! I like the view from my fire engine better though!

[russell_bynum]

Oh, and the horn works EVERY time for the turn signal cancel with those girls! I like the view from my fire engine better though!

 

Some guys have all the fun.

[eddd]

 

Yup, and oh, hey, BTW, I am a firefighter. You all may THINK you know or whatever about lights and sirens. It is an absolute fact; people do NOT see/hear/respond/react to us going code 3. End of story!...

 

When the other drivers finally hear the siren/air horn there is no telling what they might do especially if they are startled. I've had them go right, left, stop in the lane, put on the blinker and keep driving until they get to their turn, you name it.

 

The thing about driving an emergency vehicle that transfers to riding your motorcycle is the startle factor. If you give someone a blast of your aftermarket horns you could trigger an unwanted response. Drivers can be confused as to where the horn is coming from and the reason for the horn blast.

[tallman]

Sort of like loud pipes?

 

I've had them pull out in front of school buses I was driving.

 

Including one that was on fire...

 

Horn works well for startling the no go texter in front of me at a light, or when used in conjunction with high beam flash to pass LEO's.

[russell_bynum]

Yup, and oh, hey, BTW, I am a firefighter. You all may THINK you know or whatever about lights and sirens. It is an absolute fact; people do NOT see/hear/respond/react to us going code 3. End of story!...

 

When the other drivers finally hear the siren/air horn there is no telling what they might do especially if they are startled. I've had them go right, left, stop in the lane, put on the blinker and keep driving until they get to their turn, you name it.

 

The thing about driving an emergency vehicle that transfers to riding your motorcycle is the startle factor. If you give someone a blast of your aftermarket horns you could trigger an unwanted response. Drivers can be confused as to where the horn is coming from and the reason for the horn blast.

 

Yup.

[JerryMather]

+1

 

I personally HATE seeing riders in front of me using flashing lights, loud horns and lifting their legs off the foot pegs to point out objects in the road.

 

Give me a break guys, I know how to ride and avoid pretty much everything I've come across on the road without help from you. How about YOU just concentrate on riding and forget about being so helpful. Trust me I can pretty much take care of myself and I'm hoping the guy in front of me can also.

 

[Fubar]

So what say you all? Where do you stick your thumb and why?

 

I have mine around the grips until it's needed to make a signal of some sort. This allows me to grip the handlebars correctly & maintaining steering control.

 

I already have one or two fingers covering my brake lever and sometimes the clutch lever. My thumb is only used when needed and covering the grip most of the time.

I am always looking for developing situations. This what I have called "Offensive Driving" for 30 years. I don't want to react, a la "defensive driving", I act to short-circuit the situation before it gets hairy. Stop them in their driveway, not in front of me.

"Covering" the brake and clutch by taking digits off the handlebars in an effort to speed up reaction time goes counter to that.

 

Russell, your controls must be different from mine. The turn signal cancellation is up with the right thumb, the horn is up with the left. Or maybe it's a wiring issue, check with DR.

 

[JerryMather]

"Covering" the brake and clutch by taking digits off the handlebars in an effort to speed up reaction time goes counter to that."

 

Really..... And having your thumbs anywhere but under the grip is safer than covering a brake lever with one or two fingers???

Forget about signaling anybody! Try your best get the heck out of the away of potential problems and keep your hands on and around your handlebar grips.

 

 

[Huzband]

I like the view from my fire engine better though!

 

Long as you don't stumble stepping out.

 

 

[russell_bynum]

I like the view from my fire engine better though!

 

Long as you don't stumble stepping out.

 

 

Ouch....that's gonna leave a mark.

[StuGotz]

Not Gonna, but DID!

 

Danny , you're a bad man.

 

MB>

[Huzband]

Not Gonna, but DID!

 

Danny , you're a bad man.

 

MB>

 

I love him like a brother, thus I had to go there.

 

Edit; I'm sure I'll get a call.

[racer7]

I vote with RB.

The only time I generally know if my horn works is at state inspections. Never use the thing.

 

I do stud my road bikes with both extra white LEDs (typically Solstice SP120s) and Photon Blasters for front end conspicuity. Helps cagers judge your distance better among other things.

Hate modulators but not above putting high beam on in the worst of day time distracted tourists around here. My high beam switch also activates my high power long range lights so it adds quite a bit.

 

But real protection comes only from hands fully on the controls combined with a honed sense for anticipating what others will do. Start by learning to look into every vehicle near you and see what the driver is doing- then watch the front wheels of those stopped on-comers, etc etc...

 

You can be proactive a whole lot faster than waiting for others to react (factor of 3 or more for time), if they react at all. Don't give that major edge away if you want to stay healthy. Trusting your life to a stranger in another vehicle doesn't fall in the "wise actions" category.

 

If you want to wake up what I have sometimes called oblivipusses- bang on their window or fender. If they're on the phone they may not even notice your horn. I've watched an oblivipuss drive right into the rear of a moving 15 passenger white van without seeing it so never underestimate what they don't see.

[Huzband]

"Covering" the brake and clutch by taking digits off the handlebars in an effort to speed up reaction time goes counter to that.

 

 

So you're quicker at reactions without covering the controls? I'd really like to know how that works.

[JerryMather]

"Covering" the brake and clutch by taking digits off the handlebars in an effort to speed up reaction time goes counter to that.

 

 

So you're quicker at reactions without covering the controls? I'd really like to know how that works.

 

He can't nor can anyone else.

It's impossible to be quicker on your front brake or clutch than someone that already is covering either one of the levers with a finger or two, just can't happen.

 

He's more concerned with using his horn button to alert someone or something during his urban jungle ride than how to quickly control his motorcycle in an emergency situation. Good luck with that.

 

Question? Has anyone out there that's taken a serious motorcycle riders course ever been instructed on how or when to use your horn during an emergency situation ???

 

I might just be missing something here that I may bring up in my next riders meeting if there's positive feedback on this, but I doubt it.

[Fubar]

Apparently I'm not explaining myself well enough as you all are addressing a completely different situation.

 

I am addressing the first stage of a possible interaction with another vehicle, the preventative stage. You folks keep talking about stage two, the reactive stage or stage three, the avoidance stage (aka "brown trouser time"). If you prefer to wait, for whatever reason, until then to do anything, that's your choice.

 

For myself, I'm going to do whatever I can to prevent stage two from ever occurring by acting in stage one. If my actions don't prevent the issue from progressing, then reacting to that situation would be the next step. Changing lanes, easing off the throttle, etc. come in here. Then stage three. This is where covering the brake comes in handy.

 

Now do you see the difference between the two approaches? And just so ya know, on my bike, with my hands, placing my thumb against the horn button (covering it) still has the overwhelming majority of the meat of the digit in the gripping position. (It's only about a 10 degree difference, maybe 1/2" to the right from its default gripping position.)

[JerryMather]

I totally understand your type of riding.

In my neighborhood HORNS ARE USELESS pieces of equipment. !!!

 

Just last Sunday while going for a ride with my buddies, we came across cages making left turns in front of us blocking are lanes. Using a stupid HORN instead of quick thinking and our skills to negotiate around them would have landed at least one of us in the hospital.

 

The first one was when we were doing 75 mph along a canyon road through a blind right hand turn. At the end of the turn were two girls that were across our lane looking to see if the store they were looking at was open for business. We didn't see them until we were at the apex of the turn and had 100' to either stop, t bone them or move around them. The girls did nothing (no movement when they saw us), like a deer in a set of headlights. Horn would to what in this situation??

 

A few miles later, a new 911 Porsche was stopped at a Red Light in the left hand turn lane ( with a police substation right there on the corner ) & then he decides to blow the red light and proceed to make his turn.

I'm coming through a turn into the intersection with a GREEN light at 55 mph and there he is, in my lane Red light & all. He sees me and stops in the middle of the intersection blocking my lane, just like the girls did privously. His eyes are as big as saucers & he's saying he's sorry. I quickly go around him and flip him and his girlfriend off. A HORN would have done NOTHING !!!

 

 

[russell_bynum]

I am addressing the first stage of a possible interaction with another vehicle, the preventative stage. You folks keep talking about stage two, the reactive stage or stage three, the avoidance stage (aka "brown trouser time").

 

No. I'm saying...don't let it get to the reactive stage to begin with.

 

OK...I'm riding down the road. I'm in the left lane of a 2-lane road and there's a car on my right. We've going the same speed.

 

We're approaching a slower-moving vehicle in the right lane (ahead of the car on my right.)...so I predict that he's likely to change lanes into me.

 

And your choice would be to be ready to give a blast on the horn at the first sign that he's coming over?

 

My strategy: first of all: Never go the same speed as everyone else. Always be moving forward through traffic.

Second, as soon as I see that I'm in a position that could get ugly, I'm going to get out of that situation. Most likely that means I give a brief twist of the wrist to accelerate clear. If there's a car ahead of me, then I accelerate, change lanes into the right lane, overtake the car ahead, and then move back over.

 

The whole point is avoiding the need to be reactive.

 

 

Now...let's say that instead I just sit there in the car's blind spot with my thumb hovering over the horn button. The car starts to come over...I hit the horn.

 

The possible outcomes:

1. The driver doesn't hear the horn. Now you have to react and you've got less time to do it because you wasted time with the horn.

2. The driver hears the horn and reacts inappropriately. I've seen drivers swerve wildly into the vehicle that honked at them and I've seen them swerve hard the other way and crash into the vehicle on the other side.

3. The driver hears the horn, successfully identifies where it is coming from, and reacts appropriately by holding his lane position and slowing to avoid the car ahead. Keep in mind that people fail to see/hear fire trucks with their lights, siren, and horn blaring. But you might get lucky.

 

Faced with those options, it just seems much more prudent to avoid the situation before it becomes a situation to begin with.

 

 

 

[Huzband]

 

No. I'm saying...don't let it get to the reactive stage to begin with.

 

 

 

 

^^ This.

 

Do I use the horn? Plenty, but not before avoiding the offending obstruction to my life. And even then often all they get is the angry left turn signal.