In several cases you may have the opportunity (or be forced) ride a foreign or new motorcycle. In this case, you need to exercise increased vigilance and caution.

The most basic thing to try from the very first steps, it's the brakes. Play with the levers a bit and compare: are stronger than yours, they are softer to the touch; The conclusions will be life saving when you need to brake.

There are plenty of times when you have the opportunity or are forced to drive something else: when you go for a ride with a friend and switch bikes halfway through, when driving a rental car, when you test ride but also when you buy a new model or leave yours for service and get a replacement from the workshop.

The care you have to show in these cases is great. The new or foreign model has its own quirks and should not be treated with the logic that “nothing is wrong, I have been riding motorcycles for many years". Each model is unique and should be treated as such.

So read the main points that you should pay attention to when riding an unfamiliar motorcycle.

1. The first thing you must do when you get in the saddle, is to adjust the mirrors to your measurements.

2. Press both feet firmly on the ground and rock the motorcycle left and right, to calculate its weight. Especially if it is a heavier model than yours, repeat the process until you get used to it.

3. Getting started, pay attention to the clutch. It's definitely not set to the same standards as yours. Start slowly keeping in mind the disengagement point, so you can change relationship faster.

4. In the event that the model you own has ABS and the one you are driving for the first time does not, brake hard sometimes, so you get used to the fact that at the end of the lever travel, the brakes may lock.

5. If you are making the transition from a small displacement bike to a large one, don't force it until you get used to it. Even if you've been driving an R1 for the last few years, forced to duck ride for a few days and back to R1 again, a short adjustment period is necessary before you "drink" his blood again.

6. If the motorcycle you are going to ride has electronic systems that can be adjusted on the fly (B.C. ignition maps, electronically adjustable suspensions, etc.), spend a few minutes on them before you start, so they don't distract you while driving.

7. In case you change from a scooter to a motorcycle or vice versa, we never forget the following: scooters rely more on the rear brake, while the motorcycles in the front.

8. Always bear in mind that in many cases the new or foreign model you will be called upon to drive, it won't react the same way yours does. Don't forget that you're not driving the model you're used to, and you probably know it inside out, but a foreign and unpredictable one.

Source : mototriti.gr