What’s going on, fellow riders? With all these earthquakes we have been having all around the world, many of us here in the Bay Area especially, have been preparing for the big one to hit our area. So, what does this entail for those of us on two wheels?
If you are on your motorcycle during an earthquake, the most difficult thing to remember is: Don’t panic. Slow down. Make sure there’s still road ahead of you. Remember that on two wheels, you actually have many advantages over the cagers. You can travel over rough terrain, and squeeze in between large objects to get to safety. In fact, San Francisco is using motorcycles as parts of its earthquake and disaster response plan.
What if you do panic? Hey, no shame. An earthquake is a scary thing. What if you panic, spaz out, and experience a tank-slapper? Same advice: Don’t panic, or rather, Stop panicking.
A tank-slapper is just a violent oscillation of the front steering. All steering systems on motorcycles have a natural frequency where, given a sudden disturbance, will oscillate quickly from left to right, each oscillation bigger than the previous.
During an earthquake, going over broken pavement where the front wheel is barely touching the ground, or frantically swinging your steering to and fro, is when you will likely experience a tank-slapper. The solution sounds just as easy, however, ride it out. Don’t grab your brakes, or stop abruptly. It will only make things worse.
During an earthquake, you may also run into a situation where you might be tempted to ditch your bike to avoid hitting something or getting hit. Whether it be a car coming at you or you coming up to a building, I would say you should almost never attempt to ditch your motorcycle.
Sounds crazy but, tire rubber has immense traction; plastic, steel, and chrome have next to no traction at all. If you’re on your bike and in control, you stand a much better chance of stopping in time or swerving out of the way than if you just let the bike slide.
Let’s say you decided to ditch your bike, get knocked over, or just dropped your motorcycle, now what? Don’t panic. First, HIT THE KILL SWITCH. Next, turn off the gas, if necessary.
Make sure the bike is in gear if you can get to it. Standing with your back toward the seat, stoop down and with your right hand and grab the left grip (this is assuming the bike is on the left side, reverse if the bike is on its right side). Place your left hand under seat. When you grab the grip, pull it until it is as close to the tank as possible. With your left hand find something sturdy to grab hold of under the seat. The closer your left hand is to your body the better.
Place your back mid way on the edge of the seat. This is CRUCIAL.
Lift with your legs, not with your back. The placement of your back too high or too low on the seat will not give you the correct leverage angle. You will have to pull up with your arms a bit but mostly you will be pushing the bike up with your legs.
Hopefully this will help some of you who are caught riding during an earthquake. I’ll leave you with three more things to watch out for in case you are in San Francisco. Avoid Toyota Corollas, SUVs, mini-vans, and drivers talking on cell phones.
Toyotas drivers in the Bay think they have the safest cars in the world and seem to be either dimwitted or extremely aggressive on the road.
People in SUVs drive as if they are celebrities with the constant right of way, and diplomatic immunity. People in mini-vans drive as if they were in little sports cars (not anymore, Moms). Drivers talking on a cell phone drive as though they are talking to the President and nothing else matters. In any case, none of them can see you, or would care if they did. Avoid them all!
Can’t deal with all this? Move to Chicago, auto repair and motorcycle repair are less expensive. Need that water pump replaced? you won’t get gouged in Chicago!
Alright guys, now I’m rambling. Stay tuned for more updates, and ride safely out there!
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