Most people who drive motorcycles love to use them because of the greater convenience and mobility they provide when an individual needs to go to nearby or medium-distance destinations, with fewer traffic and parking hassles. Weather permitting, a motorcycle will always get you quicker to your target location than a car or van does. With a motorcycle, you won’t have to be hampered by single-lane or narrow roads, bothersome parking tickets, or vehicle weight limits.

Motorcycles are nowadays also called bikes because, being two-wheeled, they are basically bicycles (bi is a combination form of a Latin word meaning “two”) even though bicycles strictly are pedal-powered. Motorcycles are of different types: motocross, endures, “off-road” or dirt bikes; “big bikes” or racing motorcycles; cruisers or touring bikes; and scooters and mopeds. A further type is the custom bike, so called because they are built singly to the specifications of the individual owner. “Trikes” and all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) may perhaps be included too, since they are steered using handlebars. However, they are three-wheeled and four-wheeled vehicles and are steered or handled differently than two-wheeled vehicles. A moped (short for motor-and-pedal), strictly speaking, originally referred to a type of motorcycle that not only can be powered by the engine but can also be pedalled like a bicycle when the driver so chooses (as when it runs out of gas). However, that definition does not appear to be true nowadays since a “moped” today has no bicycle pedals.

The type of motorcycle influences the driver’s posture. A racing bike positions the driver in a headfirst, forward-leaning attitude. On the other hand, a long-distance cruising bike, with its long front forks, puts the driver in a laid-back, feet-first posture. A “dirt bike” or competition motocross bike has a high centre of gravity and plenty of clearance from the ground and thus puts the driver perched high on its seat, which is suited for irregular countryside surfaces and rough trail driving. Scooters and mopeds generally are for urban driving and give the driver a neutral or normal posture.

Much the same safe driving practices have to be observed whether you are driving a car or any motorcycle. To avoid a collision, you have to signal to motorists in front and behind you when you want to turn right or left. Glance at your rear-view mirror before turning. When overtaking a vehicle in front, you should pass to the left of that vehicle. You should dim your headlight or switch to low beam when meeting an oncoming vehicle at night. Avoid abrupt stops, starts and turns. You should use your horn sparingly.

In addition, every motorcycle driver should ensure that both his or her feet should rest flat on the ground, rather than just the toes touching the ground or with the motorcycle leaning to one side, when the motorcycle is not moving. The rear passenger should not be seated too far to the back in order not to unnecessarily make the vehicle difficult to handle and steer. The motorcycle driver should check the front and rear brakes and chain tension before every trip. Ensure that both brakes respond quickly to a normal lever pressure by the driver and that the chain tension is neither too tight to risk breakage nor too loose to be easily disengaged. Both tires should be inflated to the right pressure. Excessive pressure is very dangerous especially when the air gets heated from use, because a tire blowout causes the driver to lose control and can result in fatal injury. Too low a pressure, on the other hand, will cause sluggish travel and poor handling and will tax the engine too much.

Note that a motorcycle is often less visible to pedestrians and other motorists as well. A prudent motorcycle driver will keep this in mind and will approach turns calculatingly and use speed judiciously or moderately. He or she will ensure extra visibility during night driving by switching on the headlights and red rear light, using brightly coloured reflectors on the motorcycle, and by wearing light-coloured clothing. Defensive driving and obeying traffic rules and signs are especially important for motorcycle riders.

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