Eleven riding habits that experienced motorcyclists keep coming back to. Not beginner advice, and not all of it is comfortable.

Survival on two wheels is less about luck than about a set of habits that hold up when attention slips. Most riders learn them the hard way, or watch somebody else learn them the hard way. Written down, they are unremarkable. Practised consistently, they are what separates a close call from a crash.

This video covers all eleven: road positioning and where to sit in traffic, how to position at red lights, why emergency braking needs regular practice rather than theory, target fixation and how to break it, riding on the assumption that nobody can see you, chain slack, fuel gauge reliability, cold tyre grip, using the kill switch first, why riding angry is its own hazard, and how to adapt technique as reaction time changes.

Some of these apply from day one. Others only start to matter after a couple of decades in the saddle.

Traffic law differs by country and state. Some techniques discussed here, including lane positioning and filtering, are legal in some places and not in others. Check your local regulations. This video is general information, not a substitute for professional rider training, and nothing here overrides the rules of the road where you ride.

Which of these took you longest to learn? Comment below.

Subscribe to Ride Secrets for riding safety and rider know-how.

#MotorcycleSafety #RidingTips #DefensiveRiding #MotorcycleSkills #RiderSafety