Motorcycle Safety Tips from Your Friendly Neighborhood Harley-Davidson® Dealer!

Got your brand new Harley-Davidson motorcycle? Ready to hit the road? Not so fast! You need to make sure you’re ready to be safe and responsible on the road. Accidents can be significantly worse when you don’t have a protective cage around you, so putting safety first is a must. That’s why Chicago Harley-Davidson Wrigleyville in Chicago, Illinois, has provided some safety tips to properly prepare you. You’ll find us right across the street from Wrigley Stadium, so if you need additional help, just stop on by!

Know the Weather Before Riding

Before every ride, you’re going to want to check the weather report. There’s a lot you can learn here, most importantly whether it’s safe to ride altogether. Certain weather patterns can create road conditions that are far too dangerous for motorcyclists, including heavy rain, snow, and ice. It may also indicate if a day is going to be too hot for riding or if it’s simply a weather pattern that’ll make it less enjoyable to ride. Whatever the case may be, knowing how the day is going to play out can play a big role in how you prepare.

Wear the Right Gear

Another reason to check the weather is so you know what to wear. Dressing appropriately can help you stay cool, warm, or dry, depending on what the day calls for. 

But there's more to your gear than comfort. You also need the right safety gear. The most important piece of safety equipment is your helmet. Make sure it fits well and is crash test certified. You’ll also want a helmet that covers as much of your face as possible, including your mouth, jaw, and eyes (a face shield or goggles can help with this). 

Beyond that, you’ll want to make sure your boots, gloves, and riding clothes are all built for maximum protection. There’s riding-specific gear you can look into, but as long as what you’re wearing is made of thick, durable material, you’ll have the protection you need. And always make sure you’re completely covered. No shorts or t-shirts. 

Inspect your Motorcycle

Making sure your motorcycle is working the way it’s supposed to is an extremely important part of staying safe. You should be performing a thorough inspection of your bike before every ride. This should include inspecting tire pressure and treads, looking for leaks and loose parts, checking fuel, oil, and other engine fluid levels and their quality, examining your chains, and testing your brakes, clutch and throttle. Better to find out you have a faulty part while you’re safely at home than to be surprised in the middle of traffic. 

Keep your Eyes on the Road

When you’re finally on the road, there are a lot of tricks to avoiding accidents, but they almost always boil down to paying close attention to your surroundings. Keep an eye on the cars around you, whether they’re to your right or left, behind you, or 7 seconds in front of you. You’ll need to anticipate traffic changes rather than react to them. Look out for empty areas where you can pull over, should you need to get out of the way of another vehicle. And slow down if traffic conditions become denser and more erratic.

This may be a lot to think about, but eventually, it’ll become second nature. Take it easy if you’re first starting out and always update your safety practices as you gain more and more experience. Then again, if you’re still looking for the perfect motorcycle, then you’ll want to stop by Chicago Harley-Davidson Wrigleyville in Chicago, Illinois, and let one of our experienced staff give you the full tour of our Harley-Davidson motorcycles for sale.