Yesterday, during one of our rare 78 degree spring days in the PNW, I was driving on our Freeway and noticed two men riding their fully dressed Harley's (Great looking bikes by the way). The two were riding staggered in the far left HOV lane, they were doing about 4 over the speedlimit. These two never changed lanes, when traffic slowed they slowed, kept a good distance from the cars ahead, avoided riding right next to other cars and kept out of any blind spots.
At the same time a rider on a Crotch rocket came up from behind, this guy must have changed lanes at least 10 times in a mile, rode in every lane and followed close behind cars before changing lanes. Although this rider was doing everything legal and if a car had moved suddenly and hit him it would not have been his fault, this guy was not riding safe at all, he put himself at a much greater risk of getting hit from someone that simply did not see him.
Point is, you hear about a lot of Motorcycle accidents, even when they are not the fault of the rider it doesn't mean they were riding safe. The first guys mentioned were being careful and very aware of their surrounding while not putting themselves at undue risk, this is the way every rider should ride.
You can't ride a bike like you drive a car, slow down at intersections, make eye contact with oncoming cars that may be turning in front of you, when driving down residential streets always assume the oncoming car is going to turn left right in front of you. Most of all SLOW DOWN and assume everyone will be changing lanes or cutting you off and ride with enough space to adjust for any situation. Always have an escape plan, know what your going to do in case some idiot doesn't see you.
This all comes with training and experience, start out slow, ride the roads you know when you first start riding, know the danger areas and ride accordingly.
If you want to open it up and ride like a madman then find a closed track and go for it once you have the experience, when on the road...well, take it down several notches, it may seem like boring advice but it will save your life in the end.
