Motorcycle Myths: Common Myths About Bikes & Riding Bikes

Common motorcycle myths and the truth behind them.

The first thing you need to know about race spec tyres is how they function. Race tyres are sticky and provide better grip, but only when they heat up to a certain temperature - a temperature which you will mostly never achieve outside of a racetrack. Hence, nullifying whatever advantage you could get.

Second, race tyres are designed for a specific purpose, which is to perform well in a racing circuit. They are not designed for your daily commute to work. This means they will wear out a lot faster than road tyres.

Manufacturers recommend high octane unleaded fuel for high performance bikes because their engines are tuned to extract more energy by compressing the fuel to a greater degree.

A regular motorcycle engine is designed or tuned to compress the regular fuel and to a much lower degree than a performance bike. Hence, even when you use premium, high octane fuel the engine is simply not designed to take advantage. So you are only wasting your money by using higher than manufacturer recommended octane petrol.

Image Credit: Motorcycle Magazine

Never ever do this. How did this myth originate in the first place? During very early days of motorcycling bikes used to have very poor brakes and tyres that provided low traction. In some instances while riding these bikes the fastest way to slow down during an emergency was to slide.

Times have changed. Modern bikes with disc brakes, ABS and other sophisticated electronics and much grippier tyres makes stopping a lot safer. The best thing to do in an emergency is to apply both the brakes as hard as possible and try your best to stay upright.

Sure, biking has a lot to do with living your dream, but DO think twice before buying your first bike. A 1000cc superbike could be your idea of a dream bike, but it will certainly be a very bad decision for a rookie to buy a superbike. You get the point.

Start from the basics. A recommended bike for a beginner in the West is usually a 250cc or a even a 500cc bike. Most of these bikes generate around 35 bhp. Once you are comfortable on a small displacement bike only then should you set your sights higher.

Always remember that front brakes are more effective than rear brakes in stopping a bike. In fact, 70 percent of braking power comes from the front brakes. Hence, it is always advisable for a beginner to learn to use the front brakes in the right way from the start. Always remember, during an emergency apply both brakes as this will bring the bike to a stop at the earliest.

The logic behind this myth being, more weight on your neck puts more stress on it in an accident, which could result in a neck injury. On the contrary, one riding with a good quality helmet has a better chance of avoiding a neck injury from an accident than a person riding without. This is because a good quality helmet will absorb the energy from a crash, preventing it from getting transferred to the neck.

You may not realise it, but drinking lowers your response time. As you age your metabolism rate comes down which would mean the effects will take longer to wear off. Also, keep in mind that if you are involved in an accident after you have had a drink the blame is most likely to fall on you even if the fault was not yours.

Modern motorcycles are a lot more reliable. Your average Pulsar might not have broken down even a single time from the time you owned it. But this does not make it an ideal touring bike. Though it is very important to choose the right bike if you decide to go touring and a large displacement bike is almost always the right choice.

A 150cc bike could still make it through a very long journey, but chances of it breaking down are very real. A larger engine always takes the stress of running for a long time, continuously, a lot better than a smaller engine. Besides engine displacement you should also put a lot of thought into other aspects before going touring. The bike and the tyres should be decided based on where you plan to go.

This may seems plausible, but studies have put to rest any argument in support of this myth. It has been scientifically proven that even the most experienced rider will stop in a shorter distance in a bike with ABS brakes compared to a bike without ABS, on a dry surface. The gap between ABS and non-ABS brakes will only further increase in favour of ABS on slippery surfaces.

This myth is premised on the belief that a loud bike gets the attention of other drivers on the road, thus preventing an accident from occurring.

This might just work during certain instances when you are overtaking a larger vehicle in close proximity. The noise from your bike could then warn an unwary driver not to change lane and knock you down. Having said that, a loud horn will be just as effective in getting the job done and it is a lot less annoying to other motorists. Bright, reflective clothing while riding also helps in making yourself stand out.

Your bike may be smaller than a truck or even the smallest of cars, but it is no where near small enough not to register on a police radar. Even the least expensive radar hardware is good enough to detect the speed of a two wheeler. So you stand absolutely no chance of fooling a speed trap.

Only someone who hates wearing a helmet could state this as an excuse for not wearing one. A helmet will certainly not block your vision. While it will certainly take a few days for you to get adjusted, once you do you will realise that a well designed helmet can only save you from injury and nothing less.

It is only natural for a new tyre to have a coating on the surface, which is the result of the its manufacturing process. But do not make the mistake of trying to wear it out by riding under inflated as this will only result in reduced grip or even cause the tyre to be damaged, both of which could result in you on the ground. Always fill up the tyres to the right pressure and let the natural wearing process take its course.

This myth arises due to a misplaced fact. The front wheels of a bike will wobble at low speeds due to a two wheeler's design, if you are not holding the handle or if the wheel hits a bump or a stone. This wobble will correct by itself as the bike accelerates.

However, wobble could be caused due to many different reasons other than riding into a bump. A damaged tyre, a wheel not in alignment can also cause the wheel to wobble. And in these circumstances going faster to reduce the wobble is not the solution and could be a bad idea. Instead, one should get to know what's causing the wobble and get it rectified.

Here's hoping this list has proved helpful in dislodging a few myths that you might have believed in. If you know of anymore misbeliefs related to motorcycling do share them with us.